4033^ 



S 



BANCROFT 
TRAINING SCHOOL 



roR 



Mentally Subnormal Children 



HADDONFIELD, N. J. 



MANUAL 

OF THE 

COURSE OF STUDY 



'mdmi 



MANUAL 

OF THE 

COURSE OF STUDY 



BANCROFT 
TRAINING SCHOOL 

FOR 

Mentally Subnormal Children 
HADDONFIELD, N. J. 



ARRANGED BY 

MARGARET BANCROFT 

AND 

E. A. FARRINGTON, B.S., M.D. 



1909 

Ware Bros. Company, Printers 

philadelphia 






LiSRARY of CONGRESS I 
Two GoDies Ri&ceived 

mn 16 1B09 

s^ Gepi'njsiiit tntry 
GLASS €^ XXc, No. i 
COPT i^ < 



Copyright 
1909 
By Margaret Bancroft 

AND 

E. A. Farrington, B.S., M.D. 



INTRODUCTION. 

The following course of study is planned to meet the 
needs of the pupils of the Bancroft Training Schogi,. 
It aims to present the studies which normal children are 
taught in such form that they may be grasped and under- 
stood by subnormal children. 

The commonly accepted methods of instruction used in 
our schools and kindergartens are inadequate in accomplish- 
ing this end. New methods of instruction must be found 
and modifications of old methods devised, if appreciable 
results are to be obtained. The character of these addi- 
tions and modifications depends entirely upon individual 
peculiarities. Each subnormal child presents a distinct 
and separate problem, and his needs, limitations and abili- 
ties must be considered quite apart from those of his 
classmates. 

It is impossible to describe all the methods and modifica- 
tions which may be required in training subnormal chil- 
dren. A statement of general principles may be made, 
however, leaving the question of individual application and 
adaptation to the ingenuity of the teacher. 

It may be well to state briefly the point of view which 
the teacher should assume regarding her work. This 
should, first of all, be affirmative. The teacher should feel 
confident that her pupils can do what she requires of them. 
She should expect it of them. Subnormal children are 
peculiarly sensitive to the mental attitudes of those about 



4 COURSE O^ STUDY. 

them, and a feeling of doubt or a sense of failure on the 
part of the teacher, even though unexpected, will make 
itself felt in the work. 

It is a commonly accepted theory that mental processes 
are functions of brain-tissue, just as muscular contractions 
are functions of muscular tissue. If the brain-tissue is 
lacking or imperfect, the mental process will be non-exist- 
ent or rudimentary, just as in the absence of muscle-fibres 
there would be no motor action. If this were true there 
would be very little use in attempting to train subnormal 
children. Many of them would have to be regarded as 
beings without minds, as mere active physiological mechan- 
isms. But this viewpoint is productive of no results. The 
teacher who hopes to accomplish something tangible in her 
work, must view her pupils in a very different light. She 
must regard them as children whose bodies are defective, 
hut whose possibilities of mind are normal. In other words, 
she must regard them as possessing an ego or personality 
within the physical body, and her aim must be to draw that 
personality out. 

This can be done only through the physical body. It 
may thus perhaps be said that there is after all no real dif- 
ference between the two points of view. But this is erro- 
neous. There is an essential difference, a difference of 
intention and aim, of attitude toward the children and of in- 
centive regarding their education. It is just this difference 
which brings success instead of failure. Whether or not the 
question be true in itself, it works well, it accomplishes 
residts; and this fact is sufficient to recommend its 
acceptance. 



BANCROFT TRAINING SCHOOL,. 5 

Much of the early training of subnormal children is what 
may be termed pre-kindergarten training. In other words, 
they must be taught, sometimes by laborious methods, what 
normal children learn readily in the first two or three years 
of life. 

The elementary mental processes of perception, attention 
and association may be so rudimentary as to be practically 
useless. These must be trained. It may be necessary to find 
means to arouse even consciousness itself. The simple act 
of grasping an object, or of picking it up and putting it 
down may be a well-nigh impossible task. In developing 
these fundamental functions, methods and apparatus, which 
are not found in any ordinary school, are necessary; and 
infinite patience and perseverance are required. It may 
take a year to teach a child to place one block upon 
another ; five years may be required to elicit the first intelli- 
gent spoken word. Such results may appear very discour- 
aging, but if the work is continued long enough, the final 
accomplishment will more than repay the long hours of 
toil. 

The need of individual training is of paramount import- 
ance. Many children, especially the younger ones, will 
require the entire attention of the teacher, and must be 
regarded as special pupils who are to be taught by them- 
selves. Under no circumstances should the classes be 
large. In the early grades from two to five children are all 
that can be successfully handled; in the advanced classes 
from five to ten pupils may be grouped together. In ele- 
mentary work one or more assistants should be present if 
there are more than two children in the class. 



6 COXIRSi: OF STUDY. 

There are two important problems to be kept in mind in 
the training. The first is to improve the defective physical 
body so that the mind may be reached and may respond; 
the second is to educate the mind itself through the body. 

The physical training comprises the development of func- 
tion and structure by exercise, and the correction of func- 
tional and structural defects. One of the most important 
phases of this part of the work is the training of the special 
senses. Much time and care should be devoted to visual, 
auditory and other sensory exercises. ^Muscular coordina- 
tion is also important. In most subnormal children this 
function is very imperfect, and special training is necessary. 
The ordinary occupations used in developing coordination 
are rarely satisfactory. This is particularly true regarding 
hand-work, the mat-weaving, card-sewing, etc., of the kin- 
dergarten being quite inadequate. It is to be noted that 
whatever material or objects these children are given to 
handle or work with should be large, much larger than 
ordinary kindergarten material. 

The mental training should be primarily objective. This 
is of course a pedagogic rule which applies to all education, 
but its enforcement here is particularly necessary. Con- 
stant appeal must be made to the senses. Attention and 
interest are hard to arouse, imitation is imperfect, memory 
is inactive, and fatigue is readily induced. For this reason 
the lesson-periods should be short and their sequence 
planned to give as much variety to the work possible. 

Esthetic training is usually thought to be a waste of 
time, but this is by no means the case. An appreciation of 
beauty and harmony in form, color and arrangement may be 



BANCROFT TRAINING SCHOOIv. 7 

developed in subnormal children as well as in normal ones. 
Results are best accomplished in this kind of training by 
keeping the children constantly in a beautiful and harmoni- 
ous environment. They should be immersed in it. When this 
is done the effect will in time be noticeable even though the 
child is unaware of it. 

PHYSICAL CULTURE. 

This work is concerned chiefly w4th the development of 
the voluntary muscular system and its nervous control, and 
with the improvement of nutrition. There are two subdi- 
visions of the work: 

I. Active Gymnastics (in which are included dancing 
and some forms of play), and IL Medical Gymnastics 
(embracing passive movements, massage, vibration and 
electrical treatment). 

In active g}^mnastics attention must be paid to individual 
needs. These are very varied, and all the members of a class 
will rarely be able to go through the exercises together. 
It must be remembered that subnormal children are easily 
fatigued, and are very sensitive to cold and to draughts. 
They are apt to show more strength than endurance, and 
must be treated accordingly. Nearly all of them, espe- 
cially the younger ones, are deficient in kinesthetic sense. 
This is often due merely to the fact that this sense has 
remained unused and thus undeveloped. On this account 
the children will rarely be able to imitate the instructor's 
movements without help. An assistant should therefore be 
employed to put every child through the movements of each 



8 COUkvjEJ OF STUDY. 

exercise, the instructor meanwhile performing the same 
movements so that the child may see them. It will be neces- 
sary to take hold of the hands and feet of the pupil and 
move them, perhaps very many times, before the impulse to 
make the same movements voluntarily will be called forth. 
The second subdivision aims to correct the special defects 
of the individual pupil. The work is to be done entirely 
according to the physician's prescription, and is therefore 
omitted here. 

KINDERGARTEN. 

This class needs particular individual attention. All are of 
low endurance. No. 2 and No. 3 are spasm children, and 
must be watched accordingly. (See list for key to these 
numbers). No. 3 is hemiplegic, and requires special atten- 
tion to the left side. No. i is of very lax fibre, 
with a tendency to spinal curvature. Her gait and 
posture need special attention, particularly with reference 
to the action of hip and ankle joints. No. 4 is vigorous, but 
her attention is very diffuse. She does not imitate readily, 
and needs special control to keep her at work. 

The following exercises may be used : walking, marching, 
running, jumping. The steps, ladder, rings and stalls are 
to be employed. The walking beam and walking board 
may be used with care. 

Coordinative gymnastic work should be given in the form 
of free exercises. These should be done in imitation of 
the instructor, an assistant controlling the pupil. The 
instructor will select the exercises according to the needs 
and capabilities of the child. 



BANCROFT TRAINING SCHOOIy. 9 

Rhythmic coordinative work should include the march, 
side-step and gallop. The following simple square dance 
should be taught, four attendants making up the set. The 
music of the Lancers is to be used : 

Figure I. Salute partners. 

Leads forward and back. 
Sides forward and back. 
All hands gallop. 

Figure II. Salute partners. 

Leads forward to opposite station. 
Sides forward to opposite station. 
All hands gallop. 

PRIMARY II. 

This class requires individual instruction. No. 3 and 
No. 2 are spasm children. No. 3 needs training in prompt 
response to command. No. 2's eyesight is defective. He 
tends to overexcitement with jerky, incoordinate move- 
ments, and should be given exercises in slow, easy, 
rhythmic movement. No. i has a habit spasm (head- 
knocking), which must be carefully controlled. She should 
have particular attention paid to the arms, shoulders and 
neck. 

The work of the kindergarten Is to be repeated by this 
class. Greater thoroughness should be required. In teach- 
ing the square dance particular attention should be given to 
ease, accuracy and grace in position, motion and rhythm. 
The work may be improved by the use of four 8-foot ropes 
weighted at each end. These ropes are to be placed upon 



lo course: of study. 

the floor in the form of a square. They should never be 
omitted in teaching the square dance. The couples should 
stand outside the square, and step over the ropes in advanc- 
ing to the center. 

The following exercise in rhythmic coordination should 
be introduced in this class : 

Wreath Dance. The materials necessary for this exercise 
are the four ropes mentioned above, and several semi-circu- 
lar hoops measuring about two feet from tip to tip. One 
hoop should be provided for each pupil. They should be 
trimmed with flowers or some other simple decorative 
material. 

Figure I. The pupils stand in a row at intervals of 
three feet, facing the teacher. The wreath is held in both 
hands, the hoop arching above the head. One rope is placed 
behind the line, a second in front of it. The interval should 
be 1 8 inches. Standing at place the children are taught to 
lower and raise the hoop in a forward direction at the com- 
mand : ''Down ! Up !" This should be done by each child 
until it is readily accomplished. The class should then 
lower and raise the hoops in unison. Music may be intro- 
duced to aid this part of the work. 

Figure 11. A third rope is placed parallel to the second 
and eighteen inches in front of it. At command the pupil 
steps forward into the space thus made and comes to posi- 
tion. The wreath is then lowered and raised twice at com- 
mand. The child then steps backward to place. Each pupil 
is to repeat this alone. The class should then repeat it in 
unison. 

Figure III. This figure is similar to the second except 



BANCRO:?T TRAINING SCHOOL. II 

that a fourth rope is added and the pupil takes two steps 
forward to position. 

The wreath dance should never be performed without 
the ropes, and the later figures should not be taught until 
the class is thoroughly familiar with the earlier ones. 

PRIMARY I. 

In point of endurance the class ranks as follows : No. 4 ; 
No. 3; No. 2; No. I. No. I has a heart lesion, and cannot 
stand sudden or prolonged strain. He should always be car- 
ried upstairs. No. 2's circulatory system is unstable; he is 
subject to nervous irritability, due partly to defective eye- 
sight, and at times he has attacks of petit mal. 

The kindergarten work is to be repeated by this class. 
The two-step may be added, and the wreath dance learned. 
In the latter the wreaths should be dipped first to one side, 
then the other, in addition to the forward dip. The dance 
should end with a m^rch. 

INTKRMI^DIATK II. 

Endurance in this class is as follows : No. 4 ; No. 5 ; 
No. 2 ; No. 3 ; No. i. No. i has a heart lesion and an irreg- 
ular pulse. She is nervous and at times irritable. She 
should be kept active without fatigue, her work being very 
light. She should not be kept at work longer than ten 
minutes. Walking should be limited to 200 yards. She 
should never be allowed to walk upstairs or do any climbing ; 
nor should she be subjected to any sudden strain. No. 2 
should be spared heavy work. Attention should be paid to 
her gait and posture. 



12 course: o^ study. 

The earlier work is to be reviewed. Work with the 
quarter-circle may be added (except No. i), and the boys 
may have exercises on the overhead ladder. Dumb-bell and 
wand exercises may be introduced. Rope skipping may 
also be taught to all but No. i. The exercise should be very 
brief, however, being limited to one or two minutes. The 
class should learn the square dance, but the wreath dance 
may be omitted. An additional brief fancy dance may be 
arranged by the teacher, using the two-step for a basis. The 
waltz-step may also be taught. The children should be 
drilled in changing step when the time of the music changes. 
The march, gallop, two-step and waltz may be used in this 
exercise. The aim should be to have the change of step 
made promptly and without confusion. If necessary spe- 
cific music may be used for each step, but if possible the 
class should be taught to recognize the change in time rather 
than in tune. Battledore and shuttle-cock and grace-hoop 
may be introduced as part of the gymnastic work. 

INTE^RMEDIATI) I. 

Several pupils in this class are delicate. Endurance is 
low in No. I, No. 4 and No. 3. No. i should have special 
individual work only. This may consist of walking, march- 
ing, and elementary coordinative exercises. No. 4 should 
be given light work only, paying special attention to pos- 
ture, and to hands, arms and shoulders. 

No. 3 and No. 5 need particular training in gait and 
posture. No. 5 should have special exercises on the quarter- 
circle, with attention to the dorsal and cervical spine. No. 2 
has defective vision, which interferes to some extent with 



BANCR01?T TRAINING SCHOOIv. I3 

his work. He should be given everything he can do, how- 
ever, and special training should be added in distant vision. 
For this purpose a handkerchief may be placed on the floor 
at one end of the gymnasium, No. 2 being required to run 
as quickly as possible from the other end of the gymnasium 
to the handkerchief and return with it. The exercise may 
be varied, using a potato in a spoon or on a fork, etc. No. 6, 
No. 5, No. 7, and as far as possible No. 3 and No. 2, are 
to be given the regular work. This should consist in a 
review of the earlier work. The quarter-circle may be used, 
but with care. Neck-stretching may be given, and addi- 
tional floor-work introduced. The wreath-dance is to 
be omitted. The square dance should be learned, a third 
figure being added as follows : 

Figure III. Salute partners. 

Leads forward and back. 

Sides forward and back. 

Leads, ladies to center and salute. 

Sides, ladies to center and salute. 

Grand chain. 

The grand chain should be repeated until the class is per- 
fectly familiar with it. When it has been well learned, it 
may be used as a basis for a May-pole dance to be taught 
out-of-doors in the spring. Special steps are to be taught 
this class in preparation for the May entertainment. 

ADVANCED.* 

Endurance in this class is moderate. No. i is hemiplegic 
and must be spared heavy or prolonged work. Her left 

* Note. Special Class A will take the same work as Advanced. 



14 COURSE) OF STUDY. 

side requires special attention, care being taken not to over- 
tax the arm and shoulder muscles. Motion in this arm is 
limited. No. 2 is a laparotomy case. She should avoid lift- 
ing weights, raising her weight upon the rings, and all 
overhead work that requires prolonged raising of the arms 
above the head. No. 11 has weak ankles. She should be 
watched carefully in running, jumping and other exercises 
involving the muscles of the calf. The remainder of the 
class may do all regular work. 

All the earlier exercises are to be reviewed. Additions 
may be made to the floor and apparatus work at the dis- 
cretion of the teacher. Two new dance-steps may be taught, 
introducing combinations with those previously learned. 
Attention is to be paid particularly to poise, grace and per- 
fection of rhythm. 



SENSE TRAINING* 

Subnormal children almost always have some sensory 
defect, and the development of the senses should therefore 
be made a fundamental part of the training. The senses 
are trained to some extent continuously during waking 
hours, and especially during the hours of school work. But 
it is necessary to add to this special exercises which shall 
aim to develop the various sensory mechanisms. The aim 
should be development of the actual physical structures, the 
nerve-endings and fibers, and the brain-centers and areas, 
rather than of the memory and association of sensory 
impressions. It is to be noted that this development may 



BANCROI^T TRAINING SCHOOL.. 1 5 

be accomplished even though the child is not clearly con- 
scious of the sensory impression. Every ray of light or 
color that strikes the retina, every wave of sound that falls 
upon the tympanum, exercises it, although the pupil may not 
know or recognize the impression. The effect is like that of 
the aimless and unconscious movements of an infant, which 
result in development of the muscular system. Pure physi- 
cal exercise is therefore the primary aim. The mind is of 
course trained at the same time, attention and memory being 
required to measure the results obtained. 

In the earlier exercises of this work it is necessary to use 
purely mechanical devices, which are as far as possible lack- 
ing in associative factors. 



I. VISUAL TRAINING. 

KINDERGARTl^N. 

The first exercise to be taken up is in the perception 
of form. To this may be added perception of color. The 
apparatus needed is as follows : a piece of black felt two 
feet square; a black cloth, paper box, or other convenient 
cover; and three objects, namely, a shining white sphere, 
a red cube, and a green cylinder. These objects should be 
large (sphere three inches in diameter; cube three inches 
square; cylinder three by five inches). 

The colors black, white, red and green should be standard 
colors. They are employed for the following reason: 
according to a widely accepted theory of color-vision 
(Hering's) there are in the retina three substances which 



1 6 COURSE O^ STUDY. 

perceive color. The first perceives white and black, the 
second, red and green, and the third yellow and blue. 
Intermediate colors are perceived by two or more of these 
substances. The perception of color by these substances is 
accompanied by a chemical change. In each case one color 
disintegrates the substance, the other rebuilds it. Thus 
white breaks down the first substance and black' rebuilds it, 
red breaks down the second substance, and yellow the third. 
The colors mentioned are therefore used as much as possible 
in their physiological pairs, thus obtaining the greatest 
amount of exercise of the retina. Shining white is used first 
because it contains the widest range of rate-variation in 
the vibrations of the light waves, and because it affects 
structures in the retina different from those affected by 
red, green, etc. 

The work is begun by placing the sphere, covered by the 
cloth, in the center of the square of black felt. The cover is 
then removed and the pupil required to look fixedly at the 
sphere for not less than ten seconds. The cover is then re- 
placed. It is sometimes difficult to fix the pupil's attention 
upon the object. To aid in this a small electric flash-light 
may be used, flashing it upon the poHshed surface of the 
sphere, or a small gong or electric bell may be concealed 
under the black felt, and made to ring by a button controlled 
by the teacher. Attention should never be fixed by movifig 
the object. This should invariably remain stationary. 
After the object has been re-covered the teacher should ask: 
"What did you see ?" To which the child replies : "I saw 
a sphere." The answer should always be a complete sen- 
tence. "A sphere," or the simple word "sphere" or "ball" 



BANCROFT TRAINING SCHOOT.. ly 

should never be permitted. It will probably be necessary to 
teach the pupil the word sphere. If the child cannot speak, 
an attempt may be made to learn whether the sphere has 
been recognized by having him select a sphere from among 
several objects grouped nearby. 

This exercise must be continued until the pupil is thor- 
oughly familiar with it. 

The color of the object may then be introduced. The 
teacher should ask : ''What did you see?" ''I saw a sphere." 
"What color was the sphere?" "The sphere was white." 
Later the pupil may say : "I saw a white sphere." The 
color of the background should also be noted. The child 
may say: "I saw a white sphere on a black cloth (or table)." 
The red cube may then be taken up, and later the cyl- 
inder. When the objects taken singly are all readily recog- 
nized by the pupil, two may be taken together. For this 
purpose the cube and t4ie cylinder should be used first. The 
pupil should say : "I saw a red cube and a green cylinder." 
Finally all three objects may be utilized. 

PRIMARY II. 

The work of the kindergarten is to be reviewed. Two 
objects may be added, namely, a blue pyramid with a 
square base (3 by 3 by 5 inches), and a yellow cone (3 by 
5 inches). 

When all five objects are readily recognized, both sepa- 
rately and together, a new concept may be introduced, i. e., 
the concept of size. For this exercise objects similar to the 
ones in use, but of smaller size are to be provided. The 
child may say: "I saw a large red cube and a small green 



1 8 course: of study. 

cylinder," thus bringing out the difference between large 
and small. 

In this class a beginning may be made in correlating the 
forms learned with common objects. Thus the sphere may 
be correlated with an apple, or an orange, the cube and 
pyramid together with a house, the cylinder and cone 
together with a tower, etc. 

PRIMARY I. 

The earlier work is to be reviewed. The comparative 
of the adjectives large and small should be taught here. 
The difference between large, larger, and small, smaller, 
may be brought out, using suitable objects. The con- 
cept of spatial relation should then be introduced. The 
static phase of this concept, or that which refers to 
location, is the only one which should be taught to this 
class. The exercise should be in general terms. Thus the 
teacher may say: "What do you see here?" the child reply- 
ing "I see a white sphere there." The concepts here, there, 
near, far should be brought out. 

INTERMEDIATE II. 

Review. The class should be drilled in speed and 
accuracy in recognizing and naming the objects shown. 
The time in seconds required for a child to name an 
object or group of objects should be noted, and the training 
directed toward shortening this period. 

The three degrees of comparison of size should be taught : 
large, larger, largest; small, smaller, smallest. The models 
and also common objects may be used for this. 



I 



BANCROFT TRAINING SCHOOL. I9 

The concept of location may be amplified by introducing 
relative location or position. The child may say : "I see 
a white sphere behind a red cube," etc. The meaning of the 
following should be taught : above, below, before, behind, 
upon, beneath, zmthin, top, bottom, front, back, side. 

This class should be given exercises in selective color- 
vision. For this purpose colored papers may be utilized. 
Only those colors should be used, however, that have been 
previously employed in the visual exercises. Drill is to be 
given in matching and naming a color selected by the 
teacher and in selecting from several colors one named by 
the teacher. 

A beginning may be made in the study of variations of 
color. The first point to be considered is difference in tint. 
The teacher should demonstrate that a mixture of red and 
white will produce pink, and that the tint depends upon the 
proportion of the two colors. The other standard colors 
may be similarly treated. Water-colors should be employed 
for this exercise. (See Painting in Manual Work.) 

INTERMEDIATE I. 

Review all previous work. Further training in speed 
and accuracy should be given by the following exer- 
cises : a number of geometric forms are to be placed 
under cover upon the square of black felt. Not less 
than ten objects should be used. They are then to be un- 
covered for a few seconds, then re-covered, and each pupil 
required to name as many of the objects as possible, the 
teacher keeping a careful written record of the results. It 
may be necessary at first to use a long exposure, perhaps 



20 course: o^ study. 

ten seconds, but the training should be carried on until a 
single second's exposure is sufficient. 

A similar exercise may be performed, using the follow- 
ing common objects: ball, teaspoon, vase, saucer, button- 
hook, small doll, brush, cup, flower, pencil. The list may 
be varied by the teacher. 

Another similar exercise may be introduced, the pupils 
naming colors instead of objects. 

Training in sequence should then be commenced. The 
pupil should be taught to remember a series of sense per- 
ceptions in the order in which they are received. Sequence 
relating to form is first to be taken up. Five geometric 
objects are used in the following order from left to right: 
cube; pyramid; cylinder; cone; sphere. This order is 
selected because the forms thus blend naturally into each 
other. The pupil should first be drilled in exploiting these 
objects from a given point of orientation (the left-hand end 
of the series should be first selected). The order may then 
be changed, and the exposure of the objects to the pupil's 
vision limited, beginning with five seconds. After an 
exposure of this length the objects are to be covered, and 
the child required to name them in order in the direction of 
exploitation. The time of exposure is then to be shortened 
until very accurate and rapid results are gained. The point 
of orientation may then be changed and the exercises re- 
peated. (See Memory-training.) 

In color-vision shade should be taken up. The mixture of 
red and other standard colors with black should be studied. 
The various shades thus produced may be illustrated with 
water-colors. (See Painting.) 



BANCROFT TIL\INING SCHOOL. 21 

ADVANCED. 

A thorough review of the work of the previous classes 
should constitute the greater part of the work of this class. 
Seven new geometric forms may be introduced as follows : 
the hexahedron or square prism (dimensions 3x3x5 
inches; the right-angled triangular prism (sides adjacent 
to the right angle 3x5 inches) ; the equilateral triangular 
prism (3x5 inches) ; the ovoid (long diameter 3 inches) ; 
the ellipsoid (long diameter 3 mches) ; the hemisphere 
(diameter 3 inches) ; the circular plinth (diameter 3 inches, 
height I inch). These objects should all be white. They 
may be used singly and in small groups until their names 
and forms are familiar to the class. They may then be used 
in the visual speed exercises. 

The exercises in sequence of form may be varied by send- 
ing the pupil from the room for a moment after permitting 
him to observe a given series of objects. During his absence 
the order of the objects is altered, and he is required on his 
return to tell what change has been made. 

Sequence of color may be commenced by exercises with 
the standard spectrum colors in their order : red, orange, yel- 
low, green, blue, violet, using slips of colored paper (1x2 
inches). The order may be changed and the pupil required 
to point out the alteration and tell what the proper order 
should be. 

II. AUDITORY TRAINING. 

KINDERGARTEN. 

The training should begin with exercises in the dififer- 
entiation of quality of tone. The child should be taught 



2.2 COURSE OI^ STUDY. 

to tell one kind of sound from another. First of all he 
should learn how to make different sounds. A bell, a 
whistle and a small policeman's rattle are to be used 
for this. After he is familiar with the sounds of the 
instruments (and if possible the names), and can produce 
them without help, he should be taught to repeat the sounds 
after the teacher. The teacher should make a sound with 
one of the instruments so that, although the sound may be 
readily heard by the pupil, the instrument used cannot be 
seen. The pupil should then have the three instruments 
placed before him and should be required to select the one 
used and repeat the sound made by the teacher. Great care 
must be taken to give the child no hint by a motion of the 
body, hands or eyes, or in any other way, as to which 
instrument was used. He must be required to make the 
selection entirely by auditory sense, recognizing the quality 
of the sound, and associating it with the proper instrument. 

PRIMARY II. 

The early work is to be reviewed and two new sounds 
added, namely, the triangle and the drum. The training 
may be further developed by requiring the pupil to repeat 
two, and finally three sounds, in the order in which they 
were produced by the teacher, without being permitted to 
see the source of the sounds which the teacher made. 

PRIMARY I. 

Review. The class should be made perfectly familiar 
with the names of the instruments used, and should be 
required to name them from their sounds alone, the instru- 



BANCROFT TRAINING SCHOOL. 23 

ments themselves being concealed. The sounds of animals 
should also be taught. The following familiar animals are 
to be used first : horse, cow, dog, rooster. 

At this point the recognition of intensity may be intro- 
duced. The instruments used in the previous work may be 
employed, and the pupil required to say: ''I hear the horn. 
It makes a loud sound." "I hear the horn. It makes a 
soft sound." Care should be taken that the loud and soft 
sounds are produced by the same instrument. To prevent 
confusion in the pupil's mind, it is necessary in this ele- 
mentary work to have only one factor varied at a time. 
In other words, when the intensity changes, the quality 
should remain the same. 

(Note. The class may take short trips from time to time 
to nearby farms [Bell's, Gill's] and to the Zoological Gar- 
dens in order to become acquainted with the sounds of 
common animals.) 

intermediate: ii. 

Review. The recognition of pitch is to be taught in this 
class. The difference between high and low pitch should be 
taught, the tubephone or piano being used in addition to 
the other instruments. Thus the child may say: "That 
sound of the piano is high." ''That sound of the piano is 
low." Care should be taken that the high and low notes 
are made on the same instrument, i. e., the quality and 
intensity should remain unchanged, while the pitch varies. 

At this point sufficient auditory development will have 
been obtained to warrant the introduction of more complex 
exercises. The combined variations of quality, intensity and 



24 COURSE OF STUDY. 

pitch found In music may be utilized. A graphophone 
should be used, the following instruments being introduced: 
piano, violin, cornet. The human voice (soprano) may also 
be used. In addition the class should be made familiar with 
three classical pieces, so that they may recognize them just 
as they would recognize famous paintings. 

INTERMEDIATE I. 

Review. A wider scope may be given to the recognition 
of differences in quality, intensity, and pitch. The differ- 
ence between shrill and deep may be pointed out. 

A simple explanation may be given of the way in which 
the production of a tone in a bell differs from that of a 
stringed instrument. 

The graphophone exercises are to be amplified by the 
addition of the following : brass band, stringed orchestra, 
high soprano voice, deep bass voice. 

ADVANCED. 

Review. Training in the localization of sound should be 
introduced here. In order to obtain good results an instru- 
ment that makes a quick sharp click should be used 
(an elevator-starter's "clapper" is suitable). The pupil 
is to be blindfolded and required to tell the direction 
from which the sound comes, his head remaining stationary. 
A single click only should be used in each attempt, the sound 
being produced about three feet from the pupil's ear, first 
on one side, then the other, then above, behind and before. 
Care must be taken to give the pupil no hint of the direction 
of the sound by footsteps, the rustling of clothing, etc. To 



BANCROFT TRAINING SCHOOL. 25 

prevent confusion by reflection of sound the child should be 
seated in the center of the room. The results of the train- 
ing are to be kept by the teacher in a carefully written 
record. 

In the graphophone training, the class may review the 
earlier work and add five new classical pieces. 



III. OLFACTORY AND GUSTATORY TRAINING. 

KINDERGARTEN. 

In this class the exercises in taste and smell should 
be elementary. It is to be remembered that, with the excep- 
tion of four stimuli, all gustatory sensations are a com- 
bination of taste with smell. These four pure giLS- 
tatory sensations may be taught as follows : bitter ( dilute 
tincture of nux vomica) ; sweet (cane sugar syrup) ; sour 
(dilute citric acid) ; salt (strong solution of common salt). 
These substances are to be applied to the tongue with a small 
pledget of cotton on a probe or toothpick. The pupil should 
be blindfolded, or the bottle concealed so that recognition of 
the substance shall depend wholly upon taste. If the pupil 
is blindfolded care should be taken that this is complete, 
and that it is comfortable to the child. An uncomfortable 
or unaccustomed bandage over the eyes may so distract the 
attention as to make the sensory training fail. An excel- 
lent plan is to use a pair of automobile goggles in which 
the glass has been painted white. The mouth should be 
washed out with water after each test, as the child will 
otherwise get a mixed sensation that will be confusing. This 



26 COURSE OF STUDY. 

training is to be repeated, even if the child is unable to name 
the substance used, because it gives exercise to the nerve- 
endings and sensory pathways, if it does nothing more. 

Smell may be exercised by the following stimuli : dilute 
ammonia, camphor, oil of cloves, oil of peppermint. These 
substances are selected, not because they are familiar, but 
because they are vigorous stimuli and serve to awaken the 
olfactory sense into activity. 

PRIMARY II. 

Review. The following complex gustatory stimuli 
may be added : coffee, black pepper. The following addi- 
tional olfactory stimuli are to be used: oil of winter- 
green, kerosene. 

PRIMARY I. 

Review. The following gustatory exercises are to be 
added: chocolate, mint, grape- juice. Add the following 
olfactory stimuli: oil of cinnamon, wood alcohol, licorice. 

INTERMEDIATE II. 

Review. Add the following: Gustatory: tea, rhubarb, 
cranberry, sassafras, citron. Olfactory: celery seed, 
caraway seed, myrrh, cedar, lemon. The following 
flowers may be here introduced: rose, violet, carna- 
tion. The odors of these should be taught from the fresh 
flower only. In this class speed and accuracy in recognizing 
and naming the substance used should be emphasized. 



BANCROFT TRAINING SCHOOL,. 2^] 

intermediate: I. 

Review. Add the following: Gustatory: apple, banana, 
cherry, fig, date, olive, sweet pickle, sour pickle, raw 
turnip, raw carrot. Care must be taken that the pupil 
does not recognize these substances by their shape 
and consistency when taken into the mouth. Although this 
is a useful adjunct to the gustatory sense, it interferes with 
the result of the tests. As far as possible the substances 
should be cut into small pieces of the same shape, or else 
finely ground before using. 

Olfactory: burning wood, gasoline, pine, sage, orris, bay, 
chamomile, benzoin, garlic. 

The class should be taught the meaning of spicy, pun- 
gent and aromatic. 

advanced. 

Review. The more delicate differences in taste and 
smell are to be learned by this class. 

The following gustatory exercises may be introduced : 
lard, butter, olive oil, wheat flour, rye flour, corn starch, 
honey, maple syrup, New Orleans molasses. 

Olfactory : lavender, sandal-wood, ginger, rosemary, 
thyme, vanilla, pennyroyal. 

IV. TACTILE TRAINING. 

What is commonly called touch is in reality a complex of 
several senses. Technically, touch is pressure-sense, but in 
every day life it is associated variously with muscle-sense, 
stereognostic sense, temperature-sense, and pain-sense. Each 



28 course: of study. 

of these senses has its own specific nervous mechanism. 
Pressure-sense gives us information regarding the condition 
of the surface of bodies (rough, smooth, etc.), and tells us 
something about their weight. Muscle-sense with the aid 
of pressure-sense enables us to estimate the weight of objects 
by lifting them. Stereognostic sense informs us as to the 
form of objects which are in contact with the body surface. 
This information is gained chiefly by handling the objects, 
the hands and the tongue being the chief organs of this 
sense. Temperature-sense has a double function, some 
nerve-endings registering sensations of cold, others of heat. 
Neither will give any other sensation, no matter how stim- 
ulated. Pain-sense informs us when stimuli of any sort 
become so vigorous that injury to the tissues may result. 

kindergarTe:n. 

I. Pressure-sense. In this class the exercises in pres- 
sure-sense should be confined to the two sensations of rough 
and smooth. The objects needed are a black cloth bag 
(8 X 12 inches) with a drawstring, and two oblong wooden 
blocks (i X 3 X 4 inches), one covered on all sides with 
coarse sandpaper, the other varnished and highly polished. 
The training should begin with the rough block. This 
should be placed upon the table, and the tips of the pupil's 
fingers rubbed over its surface by the teacher. At the same 
time the teacher should say : "The block is rough." The 
block should also be rubbed gently over the cheeks and lips, 
repeating always : "The block is rough." An attempt may 
then be made to have the child feel the rough surface with- 
out help. When the pupil has been well drilled in the sen- 



BANCROFT TRAINING SCHOOI.. 29 

sation of roughness, the smooth block may be used 
in a similar manner. Following this the two blocks 
may be used together. Rubbing the pupil's finger- 
tips on one block the teacher should say : ''This 
block is rough ;" then rubbing the other : "This 
block is smooth." Finally the blocks may be placed in 
the black bag and the pupil required to select one of them 
at command. Thus the teacher says : "Give me the rough 
block." The child's hand is placed in the bag, taking care 
that the blocks are not visible to the eye, and the proper 
block recognized by touch and withdrawn. 

II. Muscle-sense. The trainmg of muscle-sense develops 
ability to recognize differences and similarities in the weight 
of objects. The objects for this exercise are three cubes 
(4 inches square) and three pyramids with square bases 
(4x6 inches). All the objects should be white. Two 
cubes and two pyramids should be drilled with a i ^4 -inch 
hole and loaded with lead (shot set in paraffin is best), and 
plugged, so that one cube and pyramid are of equal weight 
and heavy, and the other cube and pyramid of equal and 
medium weight. The third cube and pyramid are not 
loaded, but the cube is drilled and made of equal weight 
with the pyramid. There are thus three pairs of objects, 
the objects in each pair being of the same weight, but each 
pair diflFering decidedly from the others. 

In beginning the work, the heavy and the light pair are 
first used. All four objects are placed upon the black felt 
square, and the child taught to grasp and lift them, one at a 
time. The teacher should do this by placing the child's 



30 course; of study. 

fingers around the object and holding them there, at the 
same time Hfting the object and saying: ''This is the heavy 
cube." "This is the heavy pyramid," etc. When the pupil 
is familiar with the objects, he should be taught to select 
the pair that are of equal weight, placing the pyramid of 
this pair upon its cube. The teacher should say : ''Where is 
the heavy cube?" When it is found: "Put the heavy pyra- 
mid on the heavy cube," and so on until the exercise is per- 
fectly familiar, and may be done equally well with each 
hand. 

III. Stereo gnosis. (Omitted from this class.) 

IV. Temperature-sense. The recognition of differences 
in temperature is trained by immersing the pupil's hand in 
water. Two vessels both exactly alike (white enamel cups 
holding about one pint are best) are required. One is to be 
filled with warm water (120 degrees F.) and the other with 
cold water (40 degrees F.). The pupil's hand is to be 
immersed first in the hot water, the teacher saying: "This 
is the hot water," then in the cold, the teacher saying: 
"This is the cold water." The hands are exercised alter- 
nately. When this exercise is well understood the teacher 
should say: "Put your right hand in the hot water," etc., 
continuing the exercise until the child shows that the differ- 
ence between the two is recognized. The cups should be 
moved about from time to time ; otherwise the child may 
select one of them by remembering its position. A third 
cup containing luke-warm water (98 degrees F.) may be 
introduced later, and the pupil required to differentiate the 
three degrees of temperature. 



BANCROFT TRAINING SCHOOL. 31 

The association of temperature with common objects may- 
be developed by pointing out famiHar sources of heat, such 
as a burning candle or lamp, the stove, the radiator, etc., 
and common cold objects, such as ice, snow, etc. 

V. Pain-sense. The training of this sense is omitted. 

PRIMARY II. 

I. Pressure-sense. Review, paying particular attention 
to clear understanding of the words rough, smooth. The 
concepts hard, soft, may be added in this class. The objects 
needed are an oblong block similar to those previously used, 
but unvarnished, and a small cushion of silk (about 1x3 
X 4 inches) stuffed lightly with cotton. Hard and soft may 
be taught with these in accordance with the method used in 
teaching rough and smooth. 

II. Muscle-sense. After reviewing the earlier work, 
with particular drill on the words heavy and light, the train- 
ing may be extended to heavier objects. Four covered bas- 
kets (about 6 x 8 x 12 inches) with strong handles, all alike 
and green in color, are to be provided. These should be 
loaded with some suitable material (such as small stones) 
so that there is a distinct difference in their weights. The 
exercise may be commenced with the baskets loaded in two 
pairs, the baskets in each pair being of equal weight. This 
gives two different weights to be recognized by the pupil. 
The teacher says : "Bring me the heavy basket." The pupil 
selects a heavy basket from among the others and carries it 
across the room to the teacher. The child may then be 
required to select and carry two baskets of the same weight 



32 COURSE OF STUDY. 

(one in each hand). The baskets may then be loaded so 
as to give four different degrees of weight, the pupil thus 
being trained to recognize smaller variations. 

III. Stereognosis. (Omit.) 

IV. Temperature-sense. The class should review the 
previous work. Three more vessels are then to be intro- 
duced, making six in all. These should be filled in pairs, 
two hot, two luke-warm and two cold. The pupil is then to 
be taught to group the pairs, placing the two of like tem- 
perature together, the hot at one end and the cold at the 
other. 

A beginning may be made in teaching the relation 
between a source of heat and a source of light. It may be 
shown that heat and light accompany each other, and that 
they are habitually found together. 

PRIMARY I. 

I. Pressure-sense. Review. The concepts of rough and 
smooth may be further brought out by using a piece of 
coarse burlap and a piece of satin (each about 4 inches 
square). A rough and a smooth stone may also be 
employed, the child learning that the qualities of rough, 
smooth and also hard, soft, are not inherent in any specific 
object, but may be possessed by various objects. 

The concepts wet, dry, should be taught to this class. Two 
pieces of cloth (ordinary face cloths will do) one of which 
has been dipped in water, are to be used. The pupil must 
be shown that when anything is zvet, water has been added 



BANCROIfT TRAINING SCHOOIv. 33 

to it. The child should note that touching the wet cloth 
wets the hand. It should also be pointed out that when a 
thing is wet with water at the ordinary room-temperature 
it feels cold. This forms a correlation of pressure- with 
temperature-sense. 

II. Muscles etise. The early work is to be reviewed, 
the teacher varying the exercises by changing the weights 
of the baskets. The positive and comparative — heavy, 
heavier, and light, lighter — should be developed. The appli- 
cation of muscle-sense in the estimation of the weight of 
common objects may be introduced here, the pupil being 
directed to lift and compare the objects about the room. 

III. Stereognosis. This work has not been previously 
introduced. The aim of the instructor should be to teach 
the pupil to recognize and name familiar objects by feeling 
their shape. Five objects are to be used: i. e., sphere, 
cube, cylinder, pyramid, cone. (They should be small 
enough to be grasped readily in one hand). The black 
bag used in the pressure-sense training is to be employed 
here. A single object is first placed in the bag and the 
pupil's hand inserted, the draw-string being tightened around 
the arm. The child must recognize the object and name it 
without withdrawing the hand. The teacher may say: 
**What do you feel ?" "I feel a cube." The pupil must not 
be permitted to recognize the objects by feeling them 
through the cloth of the bag. The hand must invariably be 
placed within the bag. When each object is readily recog- 
nized by the pupil with either hand, various combinations of 
three objects may be placed in the bag (always use three, 



34 course: of study. 

never two), and the pupil required to select and withdraw 
one named by the teacher. 

IV. Temperature-sense. Review the earlier work. An 
additional exercise in temperature-sense may be introduced 
in the form of the shower bath. This stimulates and thus 
brings into activity the nerve endings of this sense through- 
out the whole body. The application of heat and cold to 
various parts of the cutaneous surface may also be employed, 
the child being required to state which stimulus is being 
applied. For this purpose a small cloth wrung out of hot 
or cold water may be used. The ability to recognize differ- 
ences of temperature is not equally good throughout the 
body, and it will often be found difficult to obtain correct 
answers from pupils who are able to appreciate even slight 
variations in temperature by means of the hands. These 
exercises are of course not intended for the school-room. 
They may be given with the morning bath or at some other 
suitable time. 

INTERMEDIATE II. 

I. Pressure-sense. After reviewing the early work the 
concepts of elastic (or springy), sticky and oily are to be 
introduced. A small piece of India rubber sponge may be 
used for the first concept. The latter two are best taught 
by applying glue and olive oil to pieces of cardboard (about 
6x6 inches), which are protected by a paper box or other 
suitable cover. 

II. Muscle-sense. Review the previous work, intro- 
ducing the three degrees of comparison: heavy, heavier, 
heaviest; and light, lighter, lightest. 



BANCROFT TRAINING SCHOOL. 35 

III. Stereognosis. Review. The simple recognition of 
objects placed in the bag should be continued. Common 
objects may be added to those already in use, as follows: 
apple, glove, brush, fork. 

In these exercises the pupil has been required heretofore 
to give the specific name of the object felt. To this may 
be added the recognition and description of the shape of 
the object. Spherical, cubical, cylindrical, conical, pyra- 
midal, are to be taught, using suitable objects. Flat, irreg- 
ular, thick and thin may also be given, employing pieces of 
wood of appropriate shape. Differences in size should next 
be brought out. This may be commenced by using two 
objects of similar form but different size, as two cubes, two 
spheres, etc. The pupil is to withdraw the large or small 
object at command. Later five objects differing both in 
shape and size are introduced into the bag, thus requiring 
a double differentiation. The exercises may be still further 
amplified by blindfolding the pupil and directing him to rec- 
ognize and name common objects of furniture about the 
room by feeling them. 

IV. Temperature-sense. Review. 

intermediate: I. 

I. Pressure-sense. Review all the earlier work. The 
following exercises are to be added, the pupil being taught 
to differentiate with readiness the sensations resulting from 
touching raw cotton, raw wool, raw silk, fur, feathers, vel- 
vet, wood, metal, stone, glass. All these are to be used in the 
cloth bag. It is to be noted that the above sense perceptions 



36 course: o? study. 

are a complex of pressure, stereognostic and temperature 
sensations, the latter depending upon the property of some 
of the substances in question of absorbing heat from the 
cutaneous surface more rapidly than others. 

The ability to recognize weight by means of pressure- 
sense should be brought out here. This is to be done by 
utilizing the weighted cubes and pyramids as they were 
employed in the early muscle-sense exercises, the difference 
being that instead of grasping and lifting the objects with 
the fingers, they are placed by the teacher upon the palm of 
the pupil's hand, the back of the hand resting on the table. 
In this way muscle-sensations are eliminated and the estima- 
tion of differences in weight is made to depend entirely upon 
pressure. 

II. Muscle-sense. Review. 

III. Stereognosis. Review. The pupil should be taught 
to recognize the following familiar objects: rubber ball, 
teaspoon, blunt scissors, button-hook, small doll, cup, whisk, 
flower, vase, leaf. 

IV. Temperature-sense. Review. 

ADVANCED. 

I. Pressure-sense. Review. The following substances 
are to be recognized by pressure-sense : cotton cloth ; 
woolen cloth; silk cloth; hair cloth; satin; burlap; tissue- 
paper; blotting paper; India-rubber sheeting. These mate- 
rials should be employed in pieces of uniform size (4 inches 
square). 



BANCROFT TRAINING SCHOOL. 37 

II. Muscle-sense. Review. 

III. Stereo gnosis. Review. This class should be 
required to recognize the letters of the alphabet by touch. 
A set of twenty-six blocks (i x 3 x 3 inches) should be 
provided. Upon one side of each of these blocks a letter of 
the alphabet is to be clearly outlined by deep triangular 
grooves. The pupil should first be taught to recognize the 
letters singly, then to select a specific letter from a group. 
As a variation of this the teacher may require a simple word 
to be spelled by withdrawing the proper letters from the 
bag in appropriate order. 

Seven new geometric forms are to be taught in the usual 
manner. They are as follows: hexahedron (square prism) ; 
right-angled triangular prism; equilateral triangular prism; 
ovoid; ellipsoid; hemisphere; circular plinth. 

IV. Temperahire-sense. Review. 



MANUAL TRAINING. 

Manual work is of prime importance in the training of 
subnormal children. Much of it must of necessity be very 
elementary, and physical disabilities will often make the 
results exceptionally crude and imperfect. But the aim 
should be to accomplish results in the child, rather than in 
the work, and thus it is more important that the pupil do 
something of himself than merely get something done. All 
the various phases of the work should be taught with strict 
adherence to the purely objective method. When the pupil 



38 course: of study. 

is called upon to do or make something, he should perform 
his work without help if possible. If help is needed he 
should be assisted by the teacher. It is better to follow this 
method than to show the pupil how the work is done, per- 
mitting him to imitate. The teacher should never do the 
work for the child. After the task has been completed, 
the pupil should be shown a perfect specimen of the object, 
made previously by the teacher, and should be required 
to discover, and, if possible, remedy the defects of his own 
work. 

As far as the work will permit, all manual exercises 
should be done with a model or pattern as an objective 
guide. This should be made by the pupil. Thus in making 
a peg-board, the pupil should first draw and cut out a 
model in card-board, and then, using this as a basis, proceed 
to make the peg-board itself. 

KINDERGARTE^N. 

I. EivE^MENTARY Work. Lifting and Placing Objects. 
The objects necessary for this work are : 24 wooden cylin- 
ders (6x8 inches) ; 24 smooth stones as nearly spherical as 
possible, (cobble stones about 6 inches in diameter are 
suitable) ; 24 Roman bricks (2 x 4 x 12 inches). If 
desired these may be colored white, red and green, thus 
giving eight objects of each color in all three forms. 

The exercises to be performed with these objects have a 
threefold aim. First the development of the voluntary mus- 
cles. For this purpose heavy objects have been selected, 
which can be handled only with both hands, and which 
require the exercise of the muscles of the back and shoul- 



BANCROFT TRAINING SCHOOL. 39 

ders in lifting and carrying. The second aim is the develop- 
ment of muscular coordination which is favored by the exer- 
cise of the specific muscle-groups involved in grasping and 
lifting with both hands. The third aim is the stimulation of 
rudimentary constructive effort, which is aroused by the 
placing of the objects in lateral and vertical order. 

The following exercises are to be performed by each 
pupil : 

a. Simple lifting of the object, using two hands. 

b. Carrying the object to a specified place. 

c. Carrying the object to a specified place and returning 
with it. 

d. Carrying two objects to the same place. 

e. Carrying several objects to the same place and placing 
them in a row. 

f. Placing two and later three cylinders one upon 
another. 

g. Placing six bricks one upon another. 

h. Placing four stones together in a square, with a fifth 

on top to make a pyramid, 
i. Placing two cylinders on end 6 inches apart, with a 

brick across the top. 

It is to be noted that each of these exercises must be 
accurately and readily performed before another is under- 
taken. The colors should be used at first singly, then in 
combination. 

Sand-work. A sand table with clean white sand and sev- 
eral small tin buckets, shovels and molds are to be provided 
for this exercise. The child should first be taught to fill 



40 COURSE OF STUDY. 

the sand bucket with dry sand, using the shovel (never the 
hands), and empty it again. The teacher may find it neces- 
sary to grasp and guide the pupil's hand at first. When 
this exercise can be done without help, simple figures may 
be molded with the hands in wet sand. A hemisphere, a 
conoid, and other easy forms may be taught. The pupil may 
then use the tin molds, filling them with the shovel, patting 
them down and turning them out on the bottom of the 
sand pan. 

Block-building. As an exercise correlative with the lift- 
ing and placing, similar work may be done with blocks at the 
pupils' seats. The same figures may be built, using blocks 
of the same form and color as the larger objects. In early 
training a multiplicity of forms should be avoided, as this 
is apt to produce confusion in the mind of the child. 

Peghoard-work. This work coordinates the hands and 
eyes. It develops perception, attention and memory. It is 
useful in encouraging quick recognition of form and color, 
and in training ready selection of one form or color from 
among many. The first exercise should be performed with 
a simple peg-board (8 x 12 inches), containing a single row 
of eight half -inch holes, with sets of pegs (% x 2^ inches) 
in white, red and green colors. The pupil should be taught 
to fill each hole in the board in consecutive order from left 
to right, using pegs of a single color only. This should be 
done readily without assistance, and with either hand. 
Combinations of red and green pegs may then be used, and 
finally white may be introduced. The peg-board serves 
also as a foundation for writing because it develops a basis 



BANCROFT TRAINING SCHOOL. 4I 

for the joining of dots with Hnes. In this work the peg- 
board should be supported at an angle of about 50 degrees 
on a framework or easel. (See Language.) The pegs may 
be put in from above downward and from left to right. A 
peg should be inserted at each end of the row first, the other 
holes being filled in afterward in the proper direction. 
The second peg-board is to be given to the pupil 
only when the first is perfectly familiar. It consists 
of a board similar to the first, but containing 
two rows of holes. These are to be filled as before. When 
this can be done, the third board may be introduced. This 
contains four rows of five holes each, the five holes in each 
row being separated into a group of three and one of two. 
These rows are to be filled in a manner similar to the others. 
The three-plus-two group is presented here as a foundation 
for the training of the eye in the perception of number- 
groups. The aim should be to familiarize the pupil with this 
group, so that the recognition of 5 as 3 plus 2 will become 
automatic. The three may be filled with red pegs, the two 
with green and vice versa. 

Sewing-board work. It is quite impossible for subnormal 
children of this grade to use successfully the small sewing- 
cards of the ordinary kindergarten. Exercises with the 
sewing-board are necessary as a preliminary training before 
anything so small as a needle can be handled. The board 
(4 X 14 inches) contains 25 1 5^ -inch holes placed in five 
rows. These holes are reamed out so that all sharp edges 
are removed. Attached to the board is a piece of rope 
(% inch; 3 feet long), with a long (8-inch) rounded blunt 



42 COURSE OF STUDY. 

wooden needle at the end. The board is held in the pupil's 
lap, and the needle passed in and out of the holes, beginning 
at an upper corner, and passing downward along each row 
until the board has been covered. It may be necessary for 
an assistant to move the child's hands at first. The exer- 
cise is repeated until it can be performed without help. 
Other more compHcated stitches are then introduced. 

Weafving-board work. What has been said regarding the 
kindergarten sewing-cards applies also to the mat-weaving. 
The common paper or linen mats cannot be handled by this 
class. A weaving-board must be used instead. This con- 
sists of a framework (2 feet square), with straps of white 
webbing (i)4-inch), stretched from one side to the other, 
about y% inch apart. The frame is held before the child 
with the webbing directed vertically. A flat wooden needle 
(8 inches long), to which is attached a piece of webbing 
(26 inches long) is given the pupil, and he is required to 
weave this in and out from right to left, beginning at the 
top. When the needle has been passed all the way 
through, it is detached, and a second piece of webbing 
woven into the frame. This is repeated until the frame is 
filled. Color-patterns may be produced by using white, red 
or green colored webbing. 

Braiding. This is a useful exercise in coordination. The 
apparatus consists of three pieces of soft white rope (^ 
inch; 18 inches long), fastened together at the upper end. 
This end should be slipped over a hook or made fast in some 
other convenient manner, and the child taught to braid the 



BANCROFT TRAINING SCHOOL. 43 

three strands of rope. Colors may be introduced here as 
elsewhere, by using strands of colored rope. 

Buttoning. Buttoning and unbuttoning are two of the 
most elementary duties connected with self-help. Many 
subnormal children cannot dress or undress themselves on 
account of the buttons. A strip of heavy cotton material 
is to be provided, along one edge of which are placed five 
one-inch buttons, 2 inches apart. The opposite edge should 
contain large button-holes. The pupil is to be trained to 
button and unbutton this strip, until the exercise can be 
performed easily and without help. 

Knot-tying. ■ Coordinate finger-work is well developed by 
this exercise. The material used should consist of a short 
length of ^-inch rope, in which the pupil is to be taught to 
tie simple and square knots. This work should not be taken 
up until the sewing, weaving and braiding are well 
performed. 

II and III. Paper-cutting and FoIvDing. This work 
should begin with simple folding. A square of heavy 
manilla paper (12 x 12 inches) is to be folded by the teacher 
so as to make a 6-inch square. This should be presented to 
the pupil, who is required to unfold and refold it along the 
same lines. This is to be repeated with help until the pupil 
can fold the paper readily. A fresh piece of paper should 
then be folded by the child without previous folding by the 
teacher. A large pair of blunt scissors is then given the 
pupil, and he is required to cut along the folded lines, the 
teacher holding the paper and assisting also with the scissors 



44 COURSER O^ STUDY. 

if necessary. The scissors must at first be held with the 
thumb and all four fingers. If they cannot be grasped at 
all it may be necessary to make use of exercises with the 
elastic flexor glove. When the cutting is done, four 6-inch 
squares of paper will result. These should be mounted on 
a card or in a large book. Triangles and smaller squares 
may be attempted when the larger ones are readily made, 
and the exercises may be further varied by using paper of 
white, red and green colors. If the advancement of the 
class permits, simple picture-cutting should be commenced. 

IV. Drawing and Painting. This work should begin 
with exercises on the blackboard, or on large sheets of 
heavy manilla paper. Chalk or crayon (white, black, red 
or green) may be used. The pupil must first be taught to 
hold the chalk. A small metal chalk-holder should be used 
for this, attention being paid to the proper position of the 
fingers. The first exercise consists in connecting several 
dots previously made by the teacher. A straight line is first 
drawn, next a broken line, then lines forming a square, a 
triangle, etc. When this point is reached, plain colors 
(black, red or green) may be utilized to cover the enclosed 
field. Crayon may be used, or if the work is done on paper 
a water color wash may be employed. 

V and VI. Omit. 

VII. CIvAy-modi:IvIvING. This should begin with the 
simple exercise of rolling a ball of clay between the palnis. 
A new ball should then be made, and this should be pressed 
and patted gently upon the modelling-board until a cube is 
formed. In a similar way a cylinder, a pyramid and a cone 



BANCROFT TRAINING SCHOOIv. 45 

may be made. The objects should be marked, dried and 
preserved. 

VIII. Omit. 

IX. Woodworking. Woodworking should commence 
with indeterminate pounding. Each pupil is to be provided 
with a hammer of medium weight, and a log or block of 
wood about 8 or lo by i8 inches stood on end for an anvil. 
The pounding should be rhythmic, the class keeping time 
with the instructor. The rhythm may be aided by intro- 
ducing a little song. The pupil's arms are to be raised and 
lowered by an assistant if necessary. When indeterminate 
pounding is well accomplished, pounding upon a spot marked 
on the log may be attempted. If this is done successfully, 
nail-driving may be introduced. The pupil may also be 
given indeterminate cross-cut sawing, using a half-inch 
board clamped vertically in the vice. 

X to XIII. Omit. 

XIV. Se^wing. In addition to the sewing-board exer- 
cises, simple stitching with needle and thread should be 
taught if possible. A piece of coarse, heavy burlap or crash 
about 8 inches square is to be folded down the center. A 
blunt bodkin 3 inches long, provided with a heavy thread, 
is inserted at the right-hand end of the folded edge, and the 
pupil required to carry a series of running stitches along the 
edge. Assistance is to be given as needed. 

XV and XVI. Omit. 

PRIMARY II. 

The pupils of this class should be given the work of the 
kindergarten without change. Special attention is to be paid 



46 course: of study. 

to individual development. Somewhat better finished and 
more accurate work may be expected. 

The pegboard work may be advanced by the introduction 
of boards 4 and 5. (These boards develop simple forms in 
a continued series. They include the right angle, double 
right angle, triangle, square and quadrilateral.) 

PRIMARY I. 

I. Eiyi^Mi^NTARY WORK. Lifting and Placing Objects. 
The earlier work is to be reviewed. Two new exercises may 
be added : 

j. Placing several cylinders six inches apart, with bricks 
upon them to form a bridge. 

k. Placing four cylinders together with bricks across the 
top to form a house. 

These exercises may be done in the sand room. The 
objects and also the sand may be carried in a small wheel- 
barrow, the pupil being taught to load and unload them. 

The class is to be taught to build the log cabins which 
are provided. (These are made from appropriate-sized pine 
sticks, ready cut and notched. They measure about 12x18 
X 20 inches.) (See Paper-cutting for correlative work.) 

Sand-work. In addition to loading and unloading sand in 
the wheelbarrow, the class may be taught to model in wet 
sand a rough outline of the grounds of the summer home 
in Maine. The House, Deer Lodge, the school-house and 
the gardens may be shown, together with a portion of the 
bay. Trees and shrubbery may be made of evergreen twigs. 

Block-building. The Third and Fourth Gifts of Froebel 



BANCROFT TRAINING SCHOOL. 47 

are to be used here, omitting the forms of knowledge and 
beauty in both Gifts. 

Peghoard-work. The more complex pegboards may be 
used here. Boards 6 and 7 are to be introduced, using com- 
binations of colored pegs (white, red and green), and corre- 
lating the groups thus formed with the elementary number- 
work. They include the quarter-circle, semi-circle, circle 
and ellipse. Board 7 presents the outline oi a house, a tower 
and a wagon, all of which may be correlated with other 
work. k--::'"''' 

Sewing-hoard and Weaving-board work, Braiding, But- 
toning and Knot-tying are all to be reviewed. The class 
may be taught to braid three-stranded raffia, using a large 
bundle of straws for each strand. 

II. Paper-cutting. In this work the following objects 
are to be made : a wagon, a simple house, and models of a 
peg-board and a key-rack (cf. woodworking; see diagrams). 
These are to be drawn, with assistance, if necessary, using a 
ruler (with no divisions into inches) to make straight lines, 
and cut out with the scissors. The following pictures are 
also to be cut out: a horse and a man (for the wagon), 
several persons (for a family for the log cabin). These 
objects are to be used in correlation with the lifting and 
placing work. The horse and wagon should drive across 
the bridge, and the family occupy the cabin, thus adding to 
the concrete idea of these objects and their use. 

III. Pape^r-folding. Review. The class is to be taught 
to fold a napkin, a handkerchief, etc., neatly. Each pupil 



48 course; of study. 

is also to make a small blank-book (6x8 inches ; 20 pages), 
with cover. The paper must be neatly cut, the cover overlap- 
ping the leaves, and the whole punched at the back and tied 
with a narrow ribbon or a cord. 

A series of objects is to be made, using the folded square 
as a basis. The paper should be bristol-board (white, red 
and green), cut in 12 x 12-inch squares. These squares are 
to be folded three times each way, thus making sixteen 
3-inch subdivisions. This method of folding is to be adhered 
to closely, as it is correlative with the sixteen 3-inch blocks 
used in the objective number work. The following objects 
may be made: square box; oblong box; cubical box; comb 
case; match safe; table; chair. (See Raffia and Reed 
Weaving. Knapp. Milton Bradley Co. pp. 9 to 12). 
Some of these objects may be used as Christmas gifts. 

IV. Drawing and Painting. After reviewing the 
early work, the curved line is to be introduced. This may 
be made at first by placing a circular object upon the paper 
and running the pencil part way around it. The curve may 
then be drawn from dot to dot, the dots being placed by the 
teacher. Combinations of curves, and the circle are next to 
be studied. Practice in using the plain ruler (without 
inches) and in drawing an accurate square should also be 
given. The work of coloring the drawing made should be 
continued. 

V and VI. Omit. 

VII. Clay-mode;lling. After reviewing the earlier work, 
the class may make the following objects: an orange; an 
apple ; a pear ; a bird's nest ; a flower-pot and saucer. ( See 



BANCROFT TRAINING SCHOOL. 49 

Forty Lessons in Clay-modelling. Kellog. A. Flanagan Co., 
pp. II to 17). A model of the peg-board (cf. woodwork- 
ing) should also be modelled in clay. 

VIII. Omit. 

IX. Woodworking. The earlier work is to be reviewed. 
Pounding upon a given spot should be developed, and fol- 
lowed later by nail-driving and driving brass-headed tacks 
in figures. The teacher should provide samples of this work 
made by herself with which the pupil may compare his 
work. Sawing to a line (cross-cut and rip; 3^ -inch lum- 
ber; 18-inch line), indeterminate sandpapering, and boring 
should be introduced. 

A small peg-board is to be made as follows (models of this 
must previously be constructed of cardboard and clay) : the 
pupil is to cut a block of ^ inch lumber 6 inches square. 
The teacher should mark dots (5 rows, 5 dots to the row), 
on the board and the pupil may then bore holes with an 
^-inch gimlet nearly through the wood, following the dots 
closely. The board should be sandpapered and varnished. 
Match sticks may be used as pegs. 

Key- rack. (A model should be made in cardboard). The 
pupil should cut and sandpaper a piece of y^-'mch pine 
4 X 12 inches. The teacher is then to dot nine points i inch 
apart along the center of the board. The pupil should 
insert small brass hooks at these points. Two screw-eyes 
are to be fastened in the upper edge of the board and a cord 
attached for hanging up. The rack should be varnished. 

X to XII. Omit. 
4 



50 course; of study. 

XIII. We^aving. a number of strips of stiff colored 
linen (white, red and green) i inch wide and 20 inches long 
should be provided. Out of these the following objects 
should be woven : book-mark ; napkin ring ; picture-frame. 
(See Knapp, pp. 18 to 22). 

XIV. Se^wing. Review. In addition to the early work, 
drill should be given in the running stitch. A small black 
cloth bag (8 X 12 inches) with a tape draw-string may be 
made. 

XV. Omit. 

XVI. DoME^STic Empi/>yment. The class should be 
taught to sweep the school-room,, gathering up the dust 
with brush and pan and placing it in the proper receptacle, 
to place the furniture in order, and to remove the dust from 
it with a cloth. 

inT]^rme:diate: II. 

I. Ei.e;me;ntary Work. Lifting and Placing Objects, 
The early work may be omitted. The class should devote 
its time to accurate and ready log-cabin building. Correla- 
tive with this a model cabin may be made of cardboard and 
of clay. 

Sandwork. A mountain with a stream and bridge may be 
made in the sand-pan. Each pupil should draw a bridge 
on paper, and, if possible, make a simple wooden bridge in 
the carpenter shop. 

Block-building. The Fourth and Fifth Gifts of Froebel 
are to be used by this class. The forms of knowledge and 



BANCROFT TRAINING SCHOOL. 51 

some of the simpler forms of beauty may be developed. In 
the building of simple forms, attention should be paid to 
accuracy and dexterity. Originality in concept of form may 
be encouraged by allowing the pupil to invent new forms. 
These should be symmetric and should express a definite 
thought. Mere aimless play is not to be permitted. 

Work with the peg-board, sewing-hoard and weaving- 
hoard, also hraiding and buttoning are to be omitted. Knot- 
tying may be developed, the bow-knot being taught. The 
pupil should also be trained in wrapping and tying parcels. 

II. Papi:r-cutting. Review. Each pupil should draw 
a doll, following a dotted outline made by the teacher, and 
two sets of clothing. These are to be cut out and used with 
the log-cabin. The dolls should be of bristol-board ; the 
clothing may be of lighter paper, colored black, red, green, 
blue or yellow. Paper chains may be made for Christmas 
decorations. 

III. Pape:r-Folj)ing. After reviewing the earlier work, 
six additional objects should be made with the 12-inch folded 
square, as follows: lunch-box; hall-bench; sled; butter- 
dish; corner-shelf; side-shelf (See Knapp, pp. 12 to 14). 
Blank-books are to be made as in the previous class. Simple 
decorative forms in paper-folding may be introduced at the 
discretion of the teacher. Models also are to be made of the 
objects specified in woodworking (q. v.). 

IV. Drawing and Painting. The work should begin 
with a review. The use of the plain ruler (without inches) 
is to be further brought out, and dexterity in drawing 
straight lines from point to point developed. A beginning 



52 COURSE O^ STUDY. 

may be made in freehand drawing. The first models to be 
used are the cube and the wooden steps. These models 
are first to be reproduced in day, and then drawn. The 
teacher should point out the effect of perspective and explain 
how it may be portrayed. This should not be done, however, 
until the pupil has made an attempt to draw the objects with- 
out help. A simple leaf should be drawn and colored. As 
an exercise in memory of form, the pupil may be required to 
draw a simple familiar object named by the teacher. This 
may then be colored, the pupil selecting and applying colors 
named by the teacher. 

In color study a simple beginning may be made in the 
differentiation of standard colors from their tints. Red, 
green, blue, yellow and black are to be employed. It should 
be noted that the common classification of colors is very 
imperfect, being founded upon neither the spectrum color- 
scale, nor the physiological scale used in these exercises. 
The following definitions should be kept in mind by the 
teacher. A standard color is a pigmentary reproduction of 
one of the six colors of the spectrum. (The seventh spec- 
tral color, indigo, is omitted). A hue is a mixture of one 
standard color with another adjacent to it in the spectral 
scale. A tint is a mixture of a standard color with white. A 
shade is a mixture of one with black. Two colors are 
complementary to each other if they produce white when 
combined. The terms primary, secondary and tertiary 
should be discarded. 

V and VI. Omit. 

VII. CiAY-MODELLiNG. Rcvicw. The following objects 



BANCROFT TRAINING SCHOOL. 53 

are to be added : cup ; pitcher ; tumbler ; tray and basket ; 
leaf ; vase with two handles ; tea set and tray ; log-cabin. 
Delicacy and perfection of form is to be brought out as far 
as possible in this class. 

VIII. Omit. 

IX. Woodworking. Review. Planing should be intro- 
duced here. The following objects are to be made in addi- 
tion to those of the previous work: wooden tag (i^^ x 3 
inches ; ^ inch wood ; tapered at one end with ^ inch hole 
in narrow end; well sandpapered; with corners and edges 
rounded; varnished); match-scratcher, (4x6 inches; %. 
inch wood ; ^ inch hole in center of one 4-inch side ; 3 x 3- 
inch piece of sandpaper glued to lower half of board after 
varnishing) ; calendar, (4x4 inches; )4 inch wood; ^ inch 
hole in one corner ; varnished ; small calendar glued diag- 
onally in center) ; corner bracket; doll's chair and bench; 
(See diagrams for specifications of these objects). Card- 
board models of all of these objects should be made by the 
pupil before the wood-working is done. The teacher should 
have samples of the work made by herself with which the 
pupil can compare his own productions. 

X. Omit. 

XL RaFFia-work. Each pupil should braid a quantity 
of three-strand raffia, using stout full strands. Several 
colors may be braided separately. The pupil should be 
watched so that the braid is kept of uniform width. It is 
well to have a short section given to each pupil as a pattern. 
After sufficient braid has been plaited, a small oval mat 



54 COURSE 01^ STUDY. 

(6x9 inches) may be sewed, using a very heavy needle 
threaded with fine raffia. A simple basket should then be 
made. 

XIL Omit. 

XIII. Wi^viNG. Review the earlier work. Five new 
objects may be woven with the linen strips, as follows: 
cubical box ; round box ; oblong box ; box v/ith handle ; box 
with lid. (See Knapp, pp. 22 to 24). 

XIV. SOWING. The class should be made thoroughly 
familiar with the materials necessary for plain sewing, such 
as needle, spool of thread, thimble, scissors, etc. Very sim- 
ple exercises in drawing and cutting out paper patterns, and 
in cutting material according to them may be introduced. 
The following stitches may be taught: running; basting; 
overhanding; outline- work ; darning (a hole is to be cut in 
heavy canvas and the pupil required to darn it) ; sewing on 
patches ; mending ripped seams. The girls are each to make 
a duster, a pin-cushion; a bureau set; and clothing for a 
doll. 

XV. Embroide^ry and Knitting. The bureau set made 
by the girls may be embroidered in a simple pattern. The 
girls should be taught a simple knitting stitch, and should 
knit a small face-cloth. The boys are to knot a doll's ham- 
mock (8 x 20 inches). 

XVI. DoME^sTic Employment. The girls are to be 
taught to air and make a bed ; to dust and place a room in 
order, and to set and clear a tea table. They may be per- 



BANCROFT TRAINING SCHOOL. 55 

mitted to have afternoon tea once a week. The boys should 
learn to sweep and place a room in order. 

inte:rme:diate: I. 

I. EivE^MKNTARY WoRK. This work may be reviewed at 
the discretion of the teacher. The log cabin and the Fifth 
and Sixth Gifts of Froebel may be used. 

II. PAPKJi-cuTTiNG. Review. Koch's toys may be util- 
ized as a form of busy-work, and more complex exercises in 
cutting out objects added. (See Bradley's "Cuts and 
Curves," Moran, etc.). Models of the girls' work-basket and 
the boys' cup-rack should be made. (See woodworking). 

III. Paper-folding. Review. Four new objects may 
be made from the folded square as follows : carriage ; house ; 
stove; trolley car. (See Knapp, pp. 15, 16, 28, 29). Addi- 
tional decorative folding may be introduced. 

IV. Drawing and Painting. After reviewing the 
earlier work, add three models for freehand drawing: the 
cube, cylinder and pyramid. In amplification of the drawing 
from memory, the pupil should be asked to reproduce from 
memory, both as to form and color, objects selected by him- 
self. A beginning may be made in freehand drawing from 
nature. A single flower (pansy) should first be sketched 
and colored, then a group of three leaves tied together with 
a ribbon. The teacher should prepare specimens of the work 
with which the work of the pupil may be compared. The 
flower and leaves should previously be modelled in clay. 
As an exercise in busy-work the pupil should be given a 
piece of paper upon which the teacher has drawn a simple 



56 COURSE) OlP STUDY. 

geometric figure, such as a circle, square, etc. This is then 
to be ampHfied and modified by the child to form a common 
object. Any object which suggests itself to the memory or 
imagination of the child may be used. Thus the teacher may 
present a square and say : "What will you make out of the 
square?" The child may say: "I will make a house." A 
door, windows, roof, chimney, etc., are then to be added by 
the pupil without help. After the drawing is completed, 
it may be criticised by the teacher. (Compare Drawing 
Cards, Series I). 

In color-work the production of shade is to be studied. 
Mixtures of black with other colors should be made and 
compared with tints. The effect of sunlight in producing a 
tint and of shadow in forming a shade may be noted. The 
various tones of gray are also to be studied. A color scale 
may be made, commencing with a standard color, which is 
placed in the center, and carrying the color tints toward 
white on one side and the shades toward black on the other. 
The standard colors orange and violet should be introduced. 
A beginning may be made in the analysis of color harmony. 
Contrasted and dominant harmonies may be studied. 

V. Photography. The elements of photography may 
be taught to this class. Instruction should be given in the 
use of the kodak. The "finder" should be explained, and 
its use taught; the rudiments of focusing shotild be made 
clear, and instructions given as to the intensity and proper 
direction of light. The general principles of the camera 
and of the action of light on the photographic plate may be 
explained. 



BANCROFT TRAINING SCHOOL. 57 

VI. Pyrography. The mechanism, and use of the pyro- 
graphic apparatus is first to be explained. The pupil may- 
then be taught how to make straight and curved lines, how 
to control the depth and direction of the lines, and how to 
follow simple designs in outline. Plain backgrounds should 
be studied. Finally a simple Christmas gift should be 
designed and finished. In operating the compressed air, the 
foot-treadle should be used as well as the hand-bulb, on 
account of the training which it gives in complex muscular 
coordination. 

VII. Clay-mode^lIvIng. Review. The following objects 
may be added : an apple with a leaf ; a bunch of grapes ; 
cherries. These may be colored appropriately, after they 
have dried. Models of the flowers and leaves used in paint- 
ing are also to be made. 

VIII. PoTTE^RY. A horizontal revolving table is to be 
provided for this work, together with appropriate clay and 
tools. After the pupil has learned to operate the table and 
understands the use of tools, a bowl, a platter and a flower- 
pot may be made. Attention should be paid to perfection in 
symmetry and form. When suitable specimens have been 
made they should be burned and preserved. 

IX. Woodworking. Review. The class should learn 
how to saw a curved line and how tO' use the spoke-shave. 
The girls of the class should make a wooden work-basket. 
The boys may make a cup-rack. (See diagrams). The 
objects should first be modelled in cardboard. Neatness and 
care should be emphasized in this class. 



58 ■ course; o^ study. 

The class is to unite in making a doll's bed-room. This 
should be 2 X 2 X 3 feet in size, with one side open. A door 
and windows are to be cut, and everything contained in the 
room, including carpet, furniture, ornaments, linen, etc., is 
to be made by the children. 

X. Omit. 

XL Ra^^ia-work. The early work should be reviewed 
and two new objects added: a circular basket with flat bot- 
tom and lid (6 inches in diameter) ; a doll's sailor hat (4- 
inch crown i^-inch brim). (See Knapp, pp. loi, 102). 
The introduction of color-patterns may be commenced here. 

XII. Basketry. The elements of reed-weaving should 
be taught. A light-weight reed should be employed. The 
pupil may begin with heavy cord as a weaver, continuing its 
use until some dexterity has been attained. Two objects 
may then be woven: a circular mat; a small basket. (See 
Knapp, pp. 66 to 68). 

XIII. Weaving. After reviewing the earlier work, the 
hand-loom should be introduced. The teacher should insist 
upon care and neatness. During the year each pupil is to 
weave a face-cloth ; a doll-rug ; a lamp-mat. 

XIV. Sewing. Review. Button-hole stitching, felling, 
and feather-stitching are to be taught. The girls are to 
make the articles necessary for their wooden work-baskets 
and for the doll's bed-room. 

XV. Embroidery and Knitting. Review. Each girl 
should embroider during the year a simple shirt-waist 
pattern. 



BANCROFT TRAINING SCHOOL. 59 

XVI. Domestic Employment. The earlier work is to 
be reviewed, attention being paid to daintiness, neatness and 
artistic arrangement. The girls should be made familiar 
with the service of a course dinner, setting and clearing the 
table and arranging artistic table decorations. 

ADVANCED. 

I. Elementary Work. A review of selected portions 
of the earlier work may be given. The Fifth and Sixth 
Gifts of Froebel should be used, attention being paid to 
architectural forms. The class should be required to repeat 
the log-cabin work and to construct out of small stones and 
mortar a stable, a well and a church. The pupils may be 
separated into three groups, each of which should undertake 
the construction of one of these objects. The stable is to 
consist of three walls (8 x i8 x 2 inches), the front remain- 
ing open. A manger should be set in, using small sticks, 
and one window made. The roof should be of beams 
(small sticks of uniform size) thatched with grass. The 
well should be circular (diameter 12 inches; walls 6 inches 
high, 3 inches thick). A stone support with a wooden 
upright and a dipping-pole are to be added. The church 
should be simple, with peaked roof and a steeple at one end. 
(Size : 18 X 24 inches ; 12 inches to eaves ; steeple 30 inches) . 
There should be seven windows and one door. The roof 
should be of board, tiled with red cardboard tiles (1x2 
inches, rounded at lower end). 

II. Paper-cutting. Review. Cutting to measurement, 
using the 12-inch rule, should be introduced. Cutting out 



6o COURSE OF STUDY. 

and pasting decorative figures may also be utilized. A 
waste-basket; bench; paper-rack; tray; tea-poys and silver- 
holder should be made by the pupils as models of the work 
assigned to them in woodworking. 

III. Pape:ii-F0IvDING. Review. Folding to measurement 
is to be taken up here, using the 12 x 12-inch cardboard 
square. The following objects should be made: bill-holder; 
corner bracket; folding box; tabourette; chair. (See 
Knapp : pp. "jy, 80, 84, 88, 94) . 

IV. Drawing and Painting. The class should review 
the earlier work, selecting material at the discretion of the 
teacher. Freehand drawing from models should be ampli- 
fied by adding the sphere and cone, and using the models in 
groups. The teacher should prepare good drawings of the 
objects which are to be shown tO' the pupil for comparison 
with his own work, a^ter his work is completed, but never 
before. The pupil must first make an effort to draw the 
object; the teacher may then correct whatever errors are 
made. Reproduction of color, using colored patterns (sec- 
tions of well-colored wall paper of formal design will serve) 
should be taught. Sketching from nature is to be com- 
menced, and studies of objects in nature and simple land- 
scapes made in charcoal and crayon. The latter may be 
used in three colors. A beginning may be made in copying 
good pictures. 

As an exercise in busy-work, the development of drawings 
based upon geometric figures may be continued. (Compare 
Drawing Cards, Series II). 

In color-work a thorough review is first to be given. 



BANCROFT TRAINING SCHOOI.. 6l 

This should be followed by a study of hue, introducing two 
hues between each pair of standard colors. The pupil should 
make a color-chart, (using ''Back Bay" colored papers), 
containing two shades and two tints of each standard color 
and its two hues. The meaning of color value and intensity 
should be explained. Broken colors may be introduced and 
their relation to tints and shades shown. Complementary 
and analogous harmonies should be taken up, and the relation 
of color value to harmony pointed out. The application of 
these simple points in mixing pigments may be made. 

V. Photography. Review. The elements of composi- 
tion should be explained. The value of high and low lights 
may be shown and practice given in estimating accurate 
exposure-time. 

VI. Pyrography. Review. More complex designs 
should be executed, colored stains being introduced. A 
beginning should be made in the execution of simple original 
designs. During the year five objects are to be made by the 
pupil. (See woodworking for a portion of this work). 

VII. Ci.AY-MOD^LUNG. After reviewing the earlier 
work, the pupil should model a doll and a small dog. The 
following objects are to be made, using plaster-of-paris casts 
as models: human hand, foot, human face in profile (on a 
plaque). 

VIII. Pottery. Review. In addition, the following 
objects should be made: vase, bowl, pitcher, stein. One of 
these objects should be colored with a simple design and 
glazed. 



62 COURSER OF STUDY. 

IX. Woodworking. The following objects are to be 
made by the class: pupils No. i and No. 2 (see key for 
these numbers) should make a large hall bench (to be 
decorated with a pyrographic design) ; No. 3 and No. 4; a 
set of three tea-poys. Each boy is also to make two small 
objects in review of the earlier work. No. 5, No. 6, No. 
7 and No. 8: scrap basket with stencilled design sawed out 
along top; No. 5 and No. 9: paper-rack; No. 9: silver- 
holder; No. 10: tea-tray with handles. 

X. Mental-working. This work may be introduced as 
a pastime. A brass foot-rule should be cut and marked, 
and a pint measure made. The pupil should be taught to 
solder a simple joint. Other objects in brass are to be made 
at the discretion of the teacher. 

XL Ra^Fia-work. Review. Two new objects are to be 
added as follows : wall-pocket ; shopping bag. ( See Knapp, 
pp. 103, 110). 

XII. Baske^try. After reviewing the earlier work, two 
new objects should be added: basket (using border II); 
basket (using border III). (See Knapp, pp. 68, 69). 

XIII. Weaving. Review. Each pupil should weave a 
mat upon the hand-loom, introducing a pattern in five colors. 

XIV. Se^wing. In addition to a thorough review, the 
pupil should cut out and put together a shirt-waist which 
has been previously embroidered. 

XV. Embroidery and Knitting. During the year a 
shirt-waist pattern should be embroidered. The pupil should 
also knit a pair of bedroom slippers. 



BANCROFT TRAINING SCHOOL,. 63 

XVI. DoME^sTic Employment. Review. The pupil 
should be taught how to prepare the table for all meals ; how 
to prepare one or two simple salads ; how to make coffee ; 
boil an egg; make toast; prepare fruit for eating. Instruc- 
tion should also be given in cleansing laces and woolens. 



MENTAL TRAINING 

I. MEMORY-WORK. 

The development of memory is a most necessary part of 
the training of subnormal children. Various factors com- 
bine to produce defective memory. In addition to sensory 
defects, attention is often poorly developed and association 
is frequently at fault. 

Memory of course is exercised by the training of the 
special senses. In this, however, the aim is to develop prin- 
cipally the actual sense-registering apparatus. In the mem- 
ory-work the aim should be to develop abstract memory, 
particularly in its relation to association. Three points 
should be kept in mind : first, the attainment of speed and 
accuracy in memorizing ; second, the attainment of speed and 
accuracy in reproducing from memory (or in "remember- 
ing") ; third, fullness and readiness of association. A part 
of the work should consist in teaching the children the com- 
monplace things of every-day life (such as saying "good 
morning," "please" and "thank you," rising when a lady 
enters the room, etc.). These things should be so readily 
remembered that they become reflex or automatic, and fall 
into the class of so-called "native reactions." 



64 course: of study. 

KINDEIRGARTE^N. 

The pupil is first to be taught to find his own chair, stand 
before it, say ''Good morning," be seated and fold the hands. 
This may not be an easy task, but it should be persisted in 

until accomplished. 

• 

The child should then be taught to perform some act 
which requires an effort of memory and necessitates some 
simple associative process; for instance, he should be 
directed to cross the room (or go to another room), and 
return with an object which is to be used for some specific 
purpose. The purpose in the exercise is important. No 
child should be permitted to perform; an exercise without 
being shown clearly why the object was brought, or what it 
was for. Thus the teacher may have a box, the pupil being 
required to bring the cover for it. A bottle and a cork may 
be used, or a pen for the ink, or a pad of paper for the pencil, 
etc. These exercises bring out valuable associations. They 
are to be supplemented by training in the recognition of 
common things and their use. This is to be directed in this 
class particularly toward self-help. The pupil should know : 
hat, coat, dress, stockings, shoes, and if possible other arti- 
cles of clothing. Also : soap, towel, tooth-brush, hair-brush, 
comb. 

In this work (and in fact in much of the other training) 
rewards are useful. An apple or an orange may be given 
as a reward to a pupil who has done well. The child may be 
required to go and get the orange which he has earned from 
another room, or one pupil may bring an orange as a reward 
to be given to one of the other children. These rewards 



BANCROFT TRAINING SCHOOL. 65 

must be used with discretion and not given too fre- 
quently. 

The motion song, ''This is the Way the Lady Rides," is 
particularly pleasing to pupil No. 4, and may be used 
as a reward for her, and also, if advisable, for others of the 
class. Care must be taken not to bounce the children too 
hard. The song is also good training, and may be learned 
by the class. Each pupil should repeat the motions (and 
words if possible) using a doll, until they are perfectly 
familiar. 

PRIMARY II. 

The earlier work should be reviewed. The training in 
remembering the names and uses of common objects should 
be amplified by adding: handkerchief, gloves, overshoes, 
necktie, hair-ribbon, napkin, plate, knife, fork, spoon, 
tumbler. 

Each pupil should be provided with a rag doll (about 18 
inches in height) and five sets of clothes in the colors red, 
green, blue, yellow and white. The girls should have girl- 
dolls, the boys boy-dolls. The suits must be complete, 
including underclothing, and must be properly made with 
buttons, etc. Each doll is to have a small green doll's chair, 
and a crib may be provided for the class as a whole. The 
pupil is to be taught to dress and undress the doll, selecting 
the appropriate garments, to prepare the doll for bed, place 
it in the crib and sing or rock it to sleep. 

PRIMARY I. 

Review. Tliis class should be given a daily drill in con- 
duct. The little points of etiquette which every child should 

5 



66 course; of study. 

know are to be emphasized, such as to say : "Good morning, 

Miss B " (using the teacher's name) ; to rise when 

the teacher or visitor enters the room ; to shake hands ; to 
offer a visitor or a lady a chair; to go behind a person in 
passing; to say "I beg your pardon" and "excuse me" at 

appropriate times ; to say "What, Miss B ?" and 

"Yes, Miss B " instead of merely "What?" and 

"Yes" or a nod of the head. 

Each child should be taught to know his own full name; 
his home ; where he lives at school in winter and summer ; 
the names of father, mother, sister, brother, etc. ; the family 
photographs. 

The pupil is also to be trained in recalling and naming 
the articles of food served at the previous meal. This may 
be amplified by requiring the naming of the food served at 
a meal on the previous day. 

The memorization of a four-line stanza may be added to 
the other work in this training. 

inte^rme^diate; II. 

Review. The training in conduct should be amplified. 
More complex exercises in the recollection of objects seen 
and heard may be introduced by requiring the pupil to go 
into another room and describe on returning all that was 
seen there. Trips to town and other outings should also be 
described from memory. The aim should be to get as per- 
fect a "word-picture" as possible, so that the child's repro- 
duction of memory impressions may be truly graphic. It 
must be remembered that imagination should not be allowed 
to play any part in these descriptions. 



BANCROFT TRAINING SCHOOL. 67 

inte^rmediate; I. 

A review of the earlier exercises is to be given, more 
thorough and complete work being demanded of the pupil. 

The following exercises in sequence, which are supple- 
mentary to the sense-training, are then to be introduced. 
The words : cat, rat, hat, mat, bat, are to be written rapidly 
on the blackboard in a given order from left to right. They 
should be allowed to remain for a few seconds, and are then 
to be erased. The pupil must at once repeat the words in the 
order in which they appeared. The reply should be at first 
oral. Later it may be written, the whole class performing 
the exercise at the same time. When this can be done 
readily, the words may be written in a vertical series and the 
drill repeated. 

In a similar manner the following sequences are to be 
taught: a, e, i, o, u— i, 2, 3, 4, 5—2, 4, 6, 8, 10— i, 3, 5, 
7, 9—4, 6, 8, 10, 12—3, 6, 9, 12, 15. 

advance:©. 

Review, amplifying the exercise of naming objects seen in 
another room. 

The studies in sequence are to be increased by the addition 
of the following: man, dog, tree, rain, girl — John, owl, pen, 
Maine, door — run, eat, make, ask, go — 3, 6, 9, 12, 15 — 
2, 5, 8, II, 14—4, 7' io» 13. 16. 

As a drill in natural sequence, the following may be given : 
spring, summer, autumn, winter — seed, sprout, plant, flower, 
fruit. Also the days of the week and the months of the 
year. These sequences are fixed and not variable sequences, 



68 COURSE OF STUDY. 

hence their order should be changed only to give the pupil an 
opportunity to point out and rectify the error in sequence. . 

During the year the class is to become sufficiently familiar 
with a number of good humorous stories (not less than 5) 
that they may be told at the table or elsewhere with clearness 
and point. 

The portraits of ten famous persons are to be made thor- 
oughly familiar to each pupil : Plato, Raphael, Beethoven, 
Washington, Victoria, Roosevelt, Taft, Emerson, Alcott, 
Weir Mitchell. 

Every week five current events are to be told to the class 
by the teacher, and each pupil required to tell the full story 
of the event in clear and intelligible form. These events are 
to be noted upon the blackboard (one added each day), and 
are to remain there for the entire week, the class being given 
a daily drill in their fluent narration. 



II. ARTICULATION. 

This work includes all those exercises which are neces- 
sary in developing the functions of voice and speech. It is 
closely related to the course in language, in fact in the higher 
grades it includes much of the material commonly placed in 
the latter course. 

The development of speech is frequently the most difficult 
problem to solve in the training of subnormal children. It 
may take years to obtain even a single conscious expression 
of an idea in definite and intelligible vocal form. 

The first necessity is of course control of the breathing 



BANCROFT TRAINING SCHOOL, 69 

apparatus and of the facial, lingual, laryngeal and other cor- 
related muscles. The voluntary control of voice-production 
is next to be acquired, and finally this is to be perfected by 
developing the cerebral vocal speech center and coordinat- 
ing it with the centers of auditory, visual and graphic 
speech. 

kinde:rgarte:n. 

Breathing exercises are to be used daily in this class. 
The pupil should be taught to inspire and expire at com- 
mand, to ''hold the breath," to breathe through either the 
nose or mouth at will, and to vary the rate and force of 
expiration. The muscles which are to be developed particu- 
larly are the muscles of the abdominal wall, the diaphragm, 
the intercostals and the group of muscles of the neck, shoul- 
ders and chest which are active in forced expiration. The 
wet spirometer may be utilized as an aid in expiratory exer- 
cises ; small toy rubber balloons may also be employed. Vol- 
untary expiratory effort may be obtained by having the 
pupil blow something. A feather, some white powder 
(cornstarch or talcum), flower-petals, little shuttlecocks of 
red or green tissue paper, cards bent at an obtuse angle and 
stood on edge, soap-bubbles, a lighted candle, all of these 
may be used in this exercise, the purposeful effort and its 
visible result aiding considerably in eliciting a response from 
the child. 

In developing the facial muscles, the first exercise should 
be an attempt to have the pupil form a round aperture 
with the lips, like an "O." The attention of the child must 
first be secured by talking to him; the teacher should then 



yo ' course: of study. 

form a soundless O with her own lips, and endeavor to have 
the child imitate her. She will probably find it necessary 
to mold the child's lips into the required position with her 
fingers. She may use a round stick or other suitable object 
introduced between the lips to aid in this. The child's 
fingers should also be passed over the teacher's lips, so that 
their conformation may be tangibly perceived. Results are 
hastened in this work by the use of a mirror, the pupil being 
thus enabled to see his own lips, and to become conscious 
of their movements. When this exercise is performed by 
the child, an attempt may be made to elicit the vowel sound 
65 (as in mood). The vibration of the teacher's larynx 
should be felt by the child with the tips of the fingers, the 
teacher at the same time calling attention to the pupil's 
larynx by placing her finger-tips over it. She may transmit 
the vibration also by pressing her cheek lightly against the 
child's. When this vowel-sound is learned the other vowels 
may be taught. Thus a (as in father) may be introduced 
following the jaw-dropping exercise (see below). The con- 
sonant m is often easy to teach at an early stage. It is to be 
noted that whatever sounds the pupil attempts voluntarily 
should be at once utilized for further development, no 
matter what they may be. 

Exercises in dropping the lower jaw are very important. 
It is often difficult to obtain this movement. It may be 
taught very satisfactorily by using an ordinary glove- 
stretcher as a pair of "forceps," to pry the mouth open. 
(They should be frequently dipped in an antiseptic solution 
when in use) . This must be done very gently. The pupil 
will eventually become so familiar with the "forceps" that 



BANCROFT TRAINING SCHOOL. Jl 

the mouth will be opened as soon as the teacher holds them 
in position. 

The tongue is to be exercised by protrusion outward, 
upward, downward and laterally, and by retraction. The 
teacher should begin by drawing the tongue forward with 
her fingers, using either a pair of blunt tongue forceps or a 
piece of sterile gauze. After repeated traction and retrac- 
tion, the tongue may be drawn up, down and laterally. 
These manipulations should be continued until voluntary 
performance of the required movements is obtained. 

PRIMARY II. 

Review, paying special attention to breathing at com- 
mand and to tongue gymnastics. In these exercises the fol- 
lowing may be added : curving the tip of the tongue back- 
ward, and at the same time upward, downward and laterally ; 
touching the tip to the teeth and hard palate ; rapid oscilla- 
tion of the protruded tongue. 

In the training in vocalization, the Pollard system is to be 
followed closely. The first family to be studied is the at 
family, using the words bat, cat, fat, hat, mat, pat, rat, sat. 
As a supplementary training the Physiological Chart of 
Makuen is to be employed. 

PRIMARY I. 

Review. The Pollard and Physiological systems are to be 
continued. The class should have daily drill in six words, 
which are to be selected from the reading lessons and placed 
upon the blackboard. These are to be made perfectly 
familiar. During the year the pupil should alsO' learn a short 



72 COURSE OF STUDY. 

recitation, a song, a passage from Scripture, and a selection 
from the Collect. The pupils are also to be taught a brief 
dialogue (an ^sop's Fable or an extract from the Brownie 
Prim-er) and the class may join in a simple pantomime and 
a tableau (from the Brownie Primer). The latter is intro- 
duced for the purpose of developing bodily and facial expres- 
sion. These are most important adjuncts to vocal expres- 
sion, and should be drawn out as often and as much as 
possible. 

inte:rme:diate h. 

Review. The work of this class should be similar to that 
of the previous grade. The Pollard and Physiological sys- 
tems are continued. Drill should be given in rapid and clear 
enunciation. Attention should also be given to inflection and 
to the proper pronunciation of words. 

This class should be given the customary review of words 
on the blackboard ; a recitation ; a Scripture passage ; a selec- 
tion from the Collect ; a dialogue ; a pantomime ; and a little 
play. Very particular attention should be directed here to 
the interpretation of ideas by bodily and facial movement. 
(See Physical Culture). 

INTERMEDIATE^ I. 

The early work should be reviewed and the exercises con- 
tinued along similar lines. Accuracy in pronunciation is to 
be especially emphasized in this class, particularly regarding 
proper vowel-sounds and the distinct enunciation of final 
consonants. 

The following words will serve as examples of the form 



BANCROFT TRAINING SCHOOL. 73 

of drill to be given: (a as in father) ask, path, hand, sand, 
land, etc.; (sound final syllable; e as in tell) vowel, towel, 
trowel, etc.; (sound final ng) going, doing, tugging, etc.; 
(sound final zu) pillow, fellow, hallow, wallow. 

During the year the following maxims and proverbs are to 
be learned : 

Know by doing and do by knowing. 

Waste not, want not. 

Where there is a will, there is a way. 

Constant dropping wears away the stone. 

There is always a lion in the way of the lazy. 

Do not cross the bridge before you come to it. 

ADVANCEX>. 

Review. The class should be given frequent drills in the 
pronunciation of words containing silent letters. For exam- 
ple : talk, walk, chalk ; half ; palm, calm, psalm ; lamb, comb, 
bomb ; right, might ; straight, weight ; laugh, draught, etc. 

Recitations and action-plays similar to those given in the 
former grade, are to be taught to this class. A beginning 
may be made in the expression of emotion by bodily posture 
and movement. 

A phrase in Latin, in French and in German is to be 
taught, as follows : 

Mens Sana in corpore sano. 
Bon jour, bonne oeuvre. 

III. LANGUAGE. 

Language-work is based upon the exercises in articulation. 
It comprises (a) reading, (b) writing, (c) spelling, and 



74 COURSE OI^ STUDY. 

(d) composition. These are all taught together, as it is 
impossible to separate one from the other in elementary 
work. Letter writing is included in section (d), and section 
(e), Foreign Languages, is omitted from this course (except 
for the few phrases in articulation). 

kinde:iigartkn. 

Very little can be done in this class that may be called 
work in language. Most of the work is included in articula- 
tion. The following words should be written on the black- 
board and repeated to the pupil many times daily, an attempt 
being made to have him imitate: dear mama, (and the first 
name of the child). 

An object (or picture) may be shown the child and the 
name of the object repeated and spelled and written (in 
printed letters) on the blackboard many times. This exer- 
cise should be continued even if no result appears to be 
gained. The mere repetition of the words and letters will 
have some effect. The following objects are to be used : 
white dog; black pony; red rose (with green leaves). 

The preliminary work in writing consists of peg-board 
exercises, which train the pupil in the "dot-to-dot" method. 
The natural directions in the movements of the child's hand 
are from above downward, from left to right and away 
from the body. For this reason the peg-board, and later the 
paper, should be supported before the pupil at an angle of 
about 50 degrees by a suitable framework. For the same 
reason it is advantageous to commence the writing itself 
on the vertical blackboard. 

The first exercise in writing consists in grasping and hold- 



BANCROIfT TRAINING SCHOOL. 75 

ing the chalk or crayon properly with the hand. It may be 
a long time before the pupil will comprehend this preliminary 
act. The teacher should place the chalk or crayon (what- 
ever is used must be large and easy to grasp) in proper 
position in the child's hand and hold it there by enclosing 
the hand in her own. She should then guide the pupil's 
hand, joining dots previously made by her to form the 
following letters: A, M, E, D, R (and whatever letters 
are necessary to spell the child's first name). These 
letters should be large (at least 3 inches high), and should 
invariably be in the form of printed capitals. (See dia- 
gram). They are to be studied separately in the order men- 
tioned above, repeating each letter until it is familiar. They 
may then be combined to form the three words to be learned 
by the class. These exercises should be utilized in writing 
letters home. As far as possible the letters should be written 
without help, even if very crude results are gained. This 
is a very important point. Whatever help is given should be 
carefully noted on each letter which is sent to the parents, 

PRIMARY II. 

This class should review and continue the work of the 
previous class. Attention should be paid to work without 
assistance. The full name of the child may be taught, and 
the words : apple, orange, cow, cat, illustrated objectively in 
the oral spelling. 

The letters necessary for the child's full name are to be 
added to written spelling, and a beginning made, if possible, 
in teaching script letters. Letter-writing is to be included. 



'jd COURSER OF STUDY. 

PRIMARY I. 

The work of the first two classes may be reviewed at the 
discretion of the teacher. The words learned in the Pollard 
and Physiological systems are to be reviewed on the black- 
board as in the class in articulation. Two primers are to be 
used in reading, Hall and Brumbaugh, and the Brownie 
Primer. The pupil must be required to gain an intelligent 
understanding of each word before another is learned. 
When a new word is reached it should be pronounced, 
written, spelled and defined by the teacher. The child 
should then express in some active way that he understands 
the word. He may then read, write and spell it himself. 
The small blank-book made in the manual room should be 
used as a writing book. The words and sentences learned, 
and the new sentences composed by the pupil are to be copied 
in this book, pictures being cut out and pasted in to illustrate 
the text. An original reader will thus be made by each 
pupil. Letter-writing as far as possible without help is to be 
given to this class. 

intermediate: II. 

A blackboard review of all words learned, both in this 
work and in the articulation class, is to be given daily. 

The Brumbaugh and Brownie Primers should be con- 
tinued. In addition the story of Peter Rabbit is to be read 
to the class. Each pupil must be made familiar with three 
vEsop's Fables and five Mother Goose stories. These stories 
are to be told or read aloud by the teacher. The pupil must 
learn to tell each story in his own words, to finish it if 



BANCROFT TRAINING SCHOOL. ']'J 

begun by the teacher, and to write a Httle composition about 
it. He must also be able to write a little description of what 
he reads in the primer. 

The writing books are to be kept for these compositions. 
Each child may choose whether he will have his book a 
Brownie book or a Rabbit book. The appropriate compo- 
sitions are then to be copied and illustrated as they are 
written. 

The class is to learn the days of the week and months 
of the year. The customary letter-writing is also to be done. 

int^rme:diate; I. 

Review. This class is to study the Thought Reader 
(Book I) and after it All the Year Round (Spring). The 
usual review of words is to be given. 

A composition is to be written once a month. The mate- 
rial for this should be procured from Fairy Stories Every 
Child Should Know. The teacher should read a story to the 
class until it is perfectly familiar, each pupil must then write 
out a brief paraphrase as a composition. This exercise 
should be insisted upon, even if the pupil is unable to write 
more than a few lines or words. 

Elementary grammar may be introduced in this class. 
The pupil is to be taught the meaning of a noun, an adjec- 
tive and a verb. The pupil should be capable of recognizing 
these parts of speech whether they occur alone or in a sen- 
tence. Proper nouns are to be distinguished from common 
nouns, and the comparison of adjectives explained. As 
an exercise, sentences should be written on the blackboard 
by the teacher, from which a noun, adjective or verb has 



78 COURSE OF STUDY. 

been omitted, the pupil being required to supply an appro- 
priate word to fill the blank space. Practical application may 
also be made of this grammar in the reading, composition, 
letter-writing and other similar work. 

A few of the elementary rules of punctuation and capitali- 
zation should also be explained, and exercises in them given 
to the class. 

ADVANCER). 

Review. The reading-books to be used in this class are 
Old Greek Stories (American Book Go's Eclectic Read- 
ings) ; Lamb's Tales from Shakespeare ; and Gibson's Sharp 
Byes. In reading, particular attention is to be paid to cor- 
rect interpretation and inflection. The pupil should be 
drilled in ease of posture, fluency of utterance, directness oi 
delivery, and clearness of expression. 

Written descriptions of personal experiences and of stories 
read are to be required. Exercises should be given in para- 
phrase, particularly the conversion of poetry to prose. Gom- 
positions should be required monthly, and the usual home- 
letter written weekly. 

In spelling, the words met with in the texts of the reading- 
books are to be utilized. The daily blackboard review 
should be continued. 

Grammar is to be amplified by the introduction of a study 
of pronouns, adverbs, prepositions, participles, articles. 
These are to be well understood and readily recognized in 
any easy context. The pupil should be required to formulate 
sentences containing words selected by the teacher, and to 



BANCRO]?T TRAINING SCHOOL. 79 

supply words omitted from sentences. Simple declension 
and conjugation should be introduced, and more advanced 
instruction in punctuation presented. 



IV. NUMBER-WORK. 

The development of the concept of number is a particularly 
difficult part of the training of subnormal children. Many 
such children find the abstractions of number almost entirely 
beyond their grasp. It is necessary therefore to present 
the subject in as objective a form as possible. 

The method outlined here is based upon the fact that the 
II many result from a breaking up or division of the one. The 

child has already gained a notion of the difference between 
self and the other; he has grasped the difference between 
subjective and objective. He has also formed some idea of a 
thing, of a vague one or whole, undefined as to parts. The 
first process in the study of definite number is therefore 
analytical. The concept of a whole and its parts, and of 
their relation to each other is first to be introduced. The 
fact that a one or whole may consist of several small ones, 
each a whole in itself, but a part as related to the primary 
unit, should be brought out. The synthetic antithesis, that 
the parts may be combined to form a whole is then to be 
demonstrated. Following the concept of how many into its 
more complex abstractions, the four primary operations may 
be taught. 

Division (and a simple notion of fractions) is studied in 
combination with addition; subtraction is next developed, 



8o course; of study. 

and finally multiplication is introduced. It is to be remem- 
bered that these are not exact and concrete processes at first, 
including a clearly defined how much concept, but are more 
or less indefinite and vague. It is only by degrees that they 
assume definite meaning, as the process of measuring quan- 
tities is added to that of numbering units. Emphasis must 
therefore be laid upon the general nature of these early num- 
ber concepts. 

Number is a relation. It deals with the whole, as com- 
posed of parts and of parts as composing the whole. It is 
an abstract mental process and not a sense-percept. In 
teaching number it is therefore necessary to abstract as far as 
possible from the objects studied those qualities which attract 
attention to sensory phenomena. The objects used in this 
course are colored cubes, so constructed that the colors may 
be used singly or in combination. The method follows the 
suggestion of McLellan and Dewey regarding the use of 
cubes, and is in some respects similar to the methods of 
Froebel (3d Gift) and Grube. 

It may be objected that the introduction of fractions 
at the outset makes the work too difficult, but this 
is not the case. The taking apart and recombining of 
a whole is one of the first instinctive acts of the normal 
child, and is performed long before counting is under- 
stood or attempted. The subnormal child cannot exhibit 
this tendency with the same fullness and varied appli- 
cation in the early period of development, and the part- 
whole concept must therefore be awakened by more system- 
atic and concrete means. 



bancroi^t training school. 8l 

kinde:rgarte:n. 

The work of this class begins with the study of a whole 
and its parts. The apparatus required consists of i6 blocks 
(3 inches square) and a thin flat piece of wood (18 x i x 
34 inches) sharpened along the edge like a knife. Each side 
of these blocks is colored with one of the standard colors as 
follows : white, black, red, green, blue, yellow. In applying 
these colors two points are to be remembered. First, that 
when all the similarly colored sides are uppermost, the field 
will be an unbroken plain color. Second, that the colors are 
to be arranged so that the following pairs fall upon adjacent 
sides : black and white ; red and green ; blue and yellow. 

In beginning the work, the 16 blocks are to be placed 
before the pupil upon the black felt square in four rows of 
four each, with sides of the same color uppermost. There 
will thus be formed a 12-inch square, presenting a uniformly 
colored surface. The pupil should not be permitted to see 
this square built. The idea of a unit, of one square, should 
be preserved. For this reason the blocks should fit together 
closely and the interstices should be as far as possible 
invisible. 

The teacher will say: ''This is a quadrangle." (The term 
quadrangle is selected because it is entirely new to the pupil 
and brings with it no confusing associations. The child 
will learn a "long" word or an unusual one as readily as an 
easy word if it is properly associated with its object or 
action). She should then move her hands over the surface 
of the quadrangle and about its margin, saying : ''This is one 
quadrangle." She should next grasp the child's hands and 

6 



82 course; of study. 

move them in a similar manner, repeating the same sentence. 
The teacher may also say : "This is a whole quadrangle." 

This exercise is to be repeated until the child can say ''one" 
and "whole," or indicate in some other way that the meaning 
of the exercise is grasped. 

The wooden blade is then introduced into the central ver- 
tical interstice between the blocks and the single group 
separated into two groups of eight blocks each. The inter- 
vening space should be about 3 inches. The teacher says: 
"I divide the quadrangle into halves. There are two halves. 
One, two." The teacher counts and points with the finger, 
first to the left group, then the right one and vice versa. 
"One whole quadrangle makes two half quadrangles." The 
child is then to repeat the exercises, the teacher grasping his 
hands and saying: "John divides the quadrangle." "There 
are two halves," etc. The two halves should be actually 
touched by the pupil as before. The pupil's hand should be 
placed upon one half, the teacher saying : "one" ; the other 
hand should then be placed upon the second half, "two." 
Both hands should touch the halves at the same time while 
"two" is spoken, so that the child will realize that two is a 
group and not simply one and another one. 

When this drill has been thoroughly taught, the accom- 
panying synthetic process may be introduced. The teacher 
should reverse the former method, moving the smaller group 
of blocks back to its original position, and saying : "I join the 
two halves. Two halves make one whole." It may then be 
explained that when one quadrangle is divided, each half 
becomes a new but distinct smaller quadrangle. "One and 
one are two." One of these smaller quadrangles should then 



BANCROFT TRAINING SCHOOL. 83 

be divided laterally into square halves composed of four 
blocks each, the teacher showing that two may also be pro- 
duced in this way. The second quadrangle is next to be simi- 
larly divided. When this is understood the teacher should 
join all the segments and re-divide, first into two halves, then 
by means of a second bisection, into four quarters, saying: 
"I divide the quadrangle into two halves ; I divide each half 
into two quarters. Two quarters and two quarters are four 
quarters." Placing the child's hands first on one pair of 
quarters, then on the other, she may say : ''Two and two are 
four." It is to be noted that the number four is taught 
before three. This is because the subdivision into 2 and 
multiples of 2 is the simplest possible. The concept of 
doubling or making a pair is more readily grasped than that 
of tripling or forming a trine. The number three may be 
taught, however, after the easier numbers have been learned. 
The teacher may then point to or touch each quarter and 
count : ''one, two, three, four quarters make one whole." 

These exercises are to be repeated until they are under- 
stood by the pupil, even if several months are required to 
accomplish this. It is important to have the pupil do the 
dividing, recombining and counting himself. At first his 
hands will have to be moved by the teacher. Perhaps it will 
be necessary to repeat this several hundred times before a 
voluntary attempt will be made to go through the exercise 
without help. A new exercise should never be undertaken 
until the previous one is actually and thoroughly understood. 

When the exercises up to four are familiar, other colors 
should be introduced. Thus the red quadrangle may be 
divided into two halves, one of which may be made green 



84 couRSi: OF study. 

by a quick turn of the rows of blocks by the teacher. The 
halves may be again divided, and one quarter made black, 
another white, thus giving four colors. These exercises 
should be varied by the teacher so as to hold the pupil's 
attention and interest as fully as possible. 

PRIMARY II. , 

After reviewing the earlier work a new division into quar- 
ters may be introduced, demonstrating that four can be pro- 
duced in more than one way. The i6-block square should 
first be bisected vertically. The halves should then be 
divided in their longitudinal diameter, forming four quar- 
ters, each composed of a single row of four blocks. All these 
divisions of the square may also be made laterally for the 
sake of variation. The colors are to be used, and drill given 
in the rapid naming of the block number-groups. A begin- 
ning may also be made in the recognition of number-groups 
from one to four in connection with other objects. Care 
should be taken that these objects are at first all alike. A 
group of smaller cubes is most suitable for the first training 
in this exercise. 

Correlative with the block exercises the teacher should 
draw on paper a large single square and write after it the 
figure I ; next two quadrangles may be drawn accompanied 
by the figure II. Then four small squares with the figure 
nil. Finally two squares with one below them and the 
figure III. The pupil should be required to repeat these 
drawings, the teacher guiding the hand at first, and to 
write the figures: I, II, III, IIII. Numerals may also be 
traced over a large heavy-faced copy, by means of the trans- 



BANCROFT TRAINING SCHOOIv. 85 

parent slate. In addition the pupil should write the numerals 
upon paper, joining dots previously made by the teacher 

PRIMARY I. 

A thorough review should be given, and the study of the 
number-blocks then continued. In this class the number- 
group -five should be introduced. For this purpose another 
row of four blocks is added to the i6-block square, thus 
making a quadrangle of five rows with four blocks in each 
row. The division and recombination into parts should be 
carried out, one quadrangle being broken up into 5, 6, 7, 8, 
9, 10, II and 12 parts. Two other colors may thus be 
utilized. 

The pupil should be taught to count readily from one to 
ten. The number-groups five and ten should be studied with 
particular attention. Objects other than the blocks may be 
made use of in this connection, the pupil being encouraged 
to associate objects in a group by counting them. 

The concept of many should be made clear. For this 
purpose the twenty-block quadrangle may be used. One 
block should be separated from the others. This is "one." 
The other blocks are then to be scattered before the child so 
that they present a number of isolated units, and this is 
called ''many." Other groups of objects may be used, such 
as large wooden beads, leaves, pebbles, apples, lumps of 
sugar, etc. 

The tracing and dot-to-dot notation with vertical strokes 
are to be continued, adding the numbers four to ten. The 
Roman form of the numerals from IV to X is also to be 
taught, as a foundation for time-telling. 



86 course: of study. 

The Arabic numerals should finally be introduced, using 
the dot method, and employing drawings of the blocks as 
graphic representations of the number written. The peg- 
boards with colored pegs may also be utilized, particularly 
board No. 3. 

Simple addition and subtraction ' should be commenced 
and a beginning made in United States money, the cent, 
nickel and dime being taught. These coins may be used in 
connection with objects of various sorts, such as apples, 
oranges, pencils, for instruction in the elements of buying 
and selling. 

INTIJRMEDIATE^ II. 

The class should have a review of earlier work. The 
block-system is then to be continued, amplifying the combi- 
nations of number-groups. The lo-group and its multiples 
are to be studied, the pupil being taught to count to 100, 
and to write the corresponding numerals. 

Simple multiplication, embodying the idea of times, is to 
be commenced, accompanied by the first two multiplication 
tables. These should be learned as songs, using the music 
specially prepared for this purpose. A beginning should 
also be made in the concept of proportion and equality, using 
the phrases as many as (later also as much as) and equal to, 
or equals. 

The i2-group is then to be developed. Its relation to 
the pair, and the trio may be brought out. It may be com- 
pared with the lo-group, and the difference between odd and 
even numbers demonstrated with the blocks and by means 
of the systems of notation. 



BANCROFT TRAINING SCHOOL. 87 

111 connection with the 12-group the Roman numerals XI 
and XII should be taught preparatory to time-telling. 

A beginning is next to be made in the development of the 
concept of hozv much or of measurement. Linear measure- 
ment should be taken up first. The difference between long 
and short may be shown by means of blocks placed in a 
row. The 4-group is then to be selected as a basis for 
developing the inch and foot. Four blocks should be placed 
in a row, and a paper or cardboard ruler made by the pupil 
as long as the row of blocks. (It should be i x 12 inches). 
This is one foot long. The ruler is then folded in the center, 
cut and each half again bisected. Each segment of the ruler 
will thus be as long as one block (3 inches). Another paper 
ruler is then to be made by marking of¥ four times the length 
of the 3-inch segment with a pencil. A ruler is thus formed, 
which is divided into half and quarter feet. One of the 
quarter-foot segments of the first ruler may finally be 
divided into three parts, each of which is one inch. The 
foot is thus made up of 12 inches. This foot rule may be 
made in clay and in wood and should be utilized in measuring 
various sorts of linear distances. 

The how much concept should be further developed by 
teaching the pint and qiMrt dry measure. A quantity of 
dried beans, rice or other material should be used. The 
pupil is to be taught first to measure these by finding out 
hozv many times a cup may be filled by an indefinite quantity 
poured out by the teacher. A pint cup and a quart cup are 
then to be used, and the pupil taught that these contain defi- 
nite quantities which never vary, and that any amount of 
beans may be measured and stated in terms of pints and 
quarts. 



88 COURSE OF STUDY. 

In United States money the quarter-dollar, half-dollar and 
dollar may be taught and buying and selling continued, intro- 
ducing the making of change. 

A beginning should be made in time-telling, using the 
clock-face with movable hands and Roman numerals. 

inti:rme^diate: i. 

Review. The block system is to be used in this class for 
review only and for drill in elementary number, attention 
being paid to speed and accuracy in counting. The pupil 
should be taught to count to i,ooo and to count in tens and 
hundreds. The multiplication tables should be taught as far 
as the sixth. The fourth primary number operation, division 
is to be introduced, and correlated with the objective work. 
Simple fractions may be explained also. 

The study of the foot-rule is to be continued. The yard 
should be brought in, and a very thorough drill in the rela- 
tion of inch, foot and yard given. Practical application of 
the rule is to be made in measuring sizes and distances 
accurately and in drawing to measure. 

The measure of surfaces is then to be undertaken. With 
the foot-rule as a basis, the square inch, square foot and 
square yard may be worked out. This should be correlated 
with the surface of the number-block quadrangles, which 
may be measured, and additions, subtractions, etc., of definite 
surface-quantities made. The paper-folding and cutting of 
the i6-square paper should also be correlated and a begin- 
ning made in drawing, folding and cutting objects to 
measure. 

In dry measure the peck is to be introduced. The pint and 



BANCROFT TRAINING SCHOOL. 89 

quart in liquid measure should also be studied, and the 
ounce and pound explained. 

In United States money change-making is to be continued. 
Time-telling is also to be further amplified, the relation of 
time to space and to motion in space being brought out. 

The meaning of single, double, treble, quadruple, should 
be thoroughly taught by means of the block-system. The 
meaning of few may be added, contrasting it with the many 
previously learned, and pointing out the distinction between 
indefinite number (few or many) and deiinite number (3 or 
500) . As a training in the rapid recognition of number the 
pupil should be drilled in finding hymns quickly by number, 
in turning promptly to a page in a book, the number being 
stated by the teacher, and in reading rapidly numbers 
written on the blackboard without regard to numerical 
sequence. 

advance:d. 

Review. Frequent drills in counting, reading numbers, 
and in speed and accuracy in the primary operations should 
be given Fractions are to be continued and long division 
introduced. Simple ratio may also be taught. The multipli- 
cation tables as far as the twelfth must be taught so that 
they may be recited or sung without hesitancy. 

The measure of solids is to be taken up by this class, using 
the foot-rule, as a basis for the elaboration of the working 
out the cubic inch, foot, etc. 

The study of avoirdupois weight and of dry and liquid 
measure is to be completed and the tables learned. 

All denominations of United States money and all combi- 



90 COURSE OI^ STUDY. 

nations of change must be made perfectly familiar. Pounds, 
shillings and pence are also to be taught. 

The practical application of number-work to daily life 
and especially to commercial and business life, is to be devel- 
oped. The pupil should learn how to keep simple accounts, 
how to make out and receipt bills, and how to draw, endorse, 
deposit and cash checks. Banking, loans and interest should 
be taught in elementary form, and the relation of notes, 
drafts, checks, etc., to actual cash explained. 

V. HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY. 

These subjects are best taught together. The difficulty 
which subnormal children find in grasping abstract concepts 
makes it necessary to teach first the geography and history 
of the home, beginning in a very general way with the house 
and grounds, then taking up the home city and its surround- 
ings. This may be followed by a journey to a nearby city 
and a subsequent study of it. The State may be taken up 
next, then other States, then the United States, and finally 
foreign countries. 

The topography, minerals, flora, fauna and climatic con- 
ditions of each country are to be taken up. The conditions 
and history of the present time must be studied first. Past 
history may then be introduced, avoiding rigid adherence to 
chronological order, and developing particularly the bio- 
graphic phases of the subject. The manners and customs 
of the people may be touched upon, and something said 
about the development of religion, literature, industry, com- 
merce and government. 



BANCROFT TRAINING SCHOOL. 9I 

The first three classes do not study this subject. 

INTI^RME^DIATe: II. 

The class is to be taught about The Lindens, learning 
about the house, the hill, creek, woods, trees, flowers, birds 
and animals. The town of Haddonfield may then be taken 
up. The surrounding country is to be studied, its soil and 
trees, birds, etc., the outlying farms and their produce, its 
industries and the railroad that passes through it. Stories 
about the settlement of the town, about the Indians, and 
about some Revolutionary incidents should be told to the 
class. Something about the flat, sandy nature of New Jersey 
may be taught, bringing out the scarcity of rocks and hills. 
The class may also be taught about the Delaware River and 
the Atlantic Ocean. 

inti:rmediate I. 

Review. A more detailed study of the state of New Jer- 
sey is to be undertaken by this class. A brief survey of the 
commerce of the Delaware River and of the industries and 
history of the city of Philadelphia should then be given. A 
similar study may be made of the states of New York and 
Maine and of the cities of New York, Boston and Rockland. 
A general outline of the physiography of these states and 
a simple statement of their mineral resources and develop- 
ment, flora, fauna, climate and industries should be made. 
The cities may then be taken up, touching upon their com- 
merce, industries and manufactures. The history of the 
cities and states may be woven in, attending particularly to 
colonial and revolutionary times. Simple instruction should 



92 COURSE OF STUDY. 

be given also regarding the systems of state and municipal 
government. The pupil should learn the names of the gov- 
ernors and mayors, and in general what their duties are. 
He should know something about law and the preservation 
of order by police. The difference between a village, a town 
and a city should be brought out, and thorough drill given in 
the following words : bay, ocean, sea, island. The points 
of the compass and the use of that instrument should also 
be well taught. 

ADVANCI^D. 

Review. This class should take up a general study of 
the states and the United States, including a brief survey 
of the history of the Indians, and of colonial, revolutionary 
and modern times. The industrial development of the nation 
should be traced, and a simple outline of the national govern- 
ment presented. 

The continent of North America should then be taken up. 
This may be followed by a very brief study of the other con- 
tinents and finally of the globe. Maps should be used here 
with great caution. The first map to be used should be the 
globe. This may be followed by topographic maps of 
states or countries, but care should be taken not to introduce 
false ideas of the outline and relationship of the territory 
studied. Small maps of New Jersey, Maine and North 
America may be modeled in clay. The climate, flora, fauna, 
etc., of foreign countries should be touched upon only very 
briefly. The studies may be amplified and interest in them 
intensified by postal-card picture-study and by sense-tests 
of native products. 



BANCROFT TRAINING SCHOOL. 93 

General history should be limited to brief stories of places 
and persons, chiefly European. A little ancient Greek and 
Roman history may be included. Frequent drill upon the 
following words and their significance is to be given : county, 
state, republic, continent, kingdom, empire, mountain, valley, 
canal, railroad, telegraph, telephone, cable, post-office, court- 
house, custom-house, lumbering, mining, agriculture, stock- 
raising, markets, manufactures. 

VI. LITERATURE. 

The scope of this course is necessarily limited. The aim 
should be to familiarize the pupil with the beginnings of 
language, and to acquaint him with some of the master- 
pieces of literature, ancient and modern, rather than to 
undertake a systematic study of the subject. The value of 
good literature in improving the pupil's style and in develop- 
ing his critical literary judgment should be remembered, 
and exercises planned with these ends in view. 

The first four classes are not given this work. 

INTE^RM^DIATE^ I. 

The work should commence with a simple exposition of 
the beginnings of language. It should be shown that thought 
or feeling finds expression in some outward way. This may 
be unconscious, as facial expression often is, or conscious, 
as is seen in voluntary signs and words. A sign of the hand 
or arm may carry with it a whole train of thought. We may 
point to the door when we wish to go out, or to food upon 
the table, to a chair, and then to our mouths to signify that 



94 COURSIJ OF STUDY. 

we are hungry and wish to sit down and eat. We may use 
the voice also to express our feeUngs and thoughts. In the 
evolution of language feeling was the first to be so expressed. 
This is shown by the baby, who laughs or cries as his emo- 
tions prompt. When a little older he points to an object and 
says : "Ah r or "Uh !" which means "I want that." Thus in 
the babyhood of the race words were evolved to express the 
hidden processes of the mind. At first these were only 
spoken words, but later pictures were used to preserve the 
thoughts. These pictures became more and more simple 
as their use extended, a few lines sufficing to represent a 
complex idea. In time the pictures became mere signs, the 
meaning of which was learned by everyone. At length the 
signs instead of representing thoughts came to represent 
sounds, and hence combinations of signs when interpreted 
resulted in a reproduction of spoken words. This is the way 
the alphabet developed. At first each nation had its own 
alphabet, but one nation began to borrow sound-signs or 
letters from another, until now many nations — although not 
all — use the same letters. 

The materials used for writing may be briefly described. 
Pictures, signs and letters were first cut in stone; later 
tablets of wax were used, next rolls of papyrus (from which 
we have the word paper) , then parchment scrolls and books, 
and finally paper. The wonderful manuscripts of early times 
may be described, and the invention and developing of print- 
ing introduced. 

The Bible is to be selected as the first example of ancient 
literature. The story of its origin may be briefly told, and 
the Hebrew and Greek texts described and shown. The 



BANCROFT TRAINING SCHOOL. 95 

translation of one language into another should then be 
fully explained, and the origin of our present English ^'ext 
pointed out. The pupil should be taught to name the books 
of the Pentateuch and the four Apostles and the Revelations. 

As a second example of early literature, the Iliad and the 
Odyssey should be selected. The story of their origin and 
authorship should be told, and tales from them selected and 
read to the class. The origin of Mother Goose and her 
rhymes and stories is also to be given. 

Once a month the pupil should be required to write a 
composition upon some subject taken up in this class. The 
pupil should make an individual literature-book in the man- 
ual-room, decorating it with appropriate designs and illus- 
trating it with pictures. This book should be used as a copy- 
book for notes and compositions. 

ADVANCED. 

Review. This class should be taught about Socrates, 
Plato and Aristotle and about their works. In a very brief 
way the teacher should outline the beginnings of science 
and philosophy, and contrast them with modern development. 

The evolution of modern languages should be traced, their 
relation to Oriental languages pointed out and the Latin and 
Germanic tongues compared. The pupil should know the 
names of the following ancient and modern languages: 
Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Arabic, Hindi, Chinese, Japanese, 
Russian, Polish, Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, German, 
Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, French, English. 



96 course: o]? study. 

In modern literature the class should read, discuss and 
write in paraphrase selections from the following authors: 

Spenser Emerson 

Chaucer Longfellow 

Milton Alcott 

Shakespeare Hawthorne 

Bunyan Robert Browning 

Tennyson J. C. Harris 

Wordsworth T. B. Aldrich 

Lewis Carroll Eugene Field 



VH. NATURAL SCIENCE. 

The natural sciences included in this section are those 
which cannot be taught by the ordinary observation and 
examination of objects as they appear in nature, and in 
which laboratory exercises of more or less technical nature 
are required in place of informal rambles in the field. It 
is particularly difficult to present these sciences in intelligible 
form to subnormal children; in fact, many branches are 
quite beyond their grasp. 

Four subjects may be taught, however, so that some of 
the fundamental facts will be understood. They are physics, 
astronomy, chemistry and physiology. The latter should 
embrace both plant and animal forms, including the human, 
and should be accompanied by some instruction in ele- 
mentary morphology. 

No attempt at a systematic treatment of the subjects 
should be thought of. All that is necessary is a simple 



BANCROFT TRAINING SCHOOL. 97 

presentation of a few facts and theories, combined with easy 
experiments and correlated with common life. 
The work begins in the fifth class. 

INTERMEDIATE I. 

Physics. A few fundamental properties of matter may be 
brought out here, using the tactile sense-tests as a basis. 
It may be first explained that matter is anything which 
occupies space, or ''takes up room." This may be illustrated 
by placing objects, such as blocks, in a box. They fill the 
space in the box ; therefore they are matter. Many kinds 
of objects may be used, hence all kinds of substances are 
matter. The use of a general term which includes many 
kinds of things in a single group should be explained, giving 
examples such as the different letters of the alphabet, no two 
of which are alike, yet which, taken all together, make a 
specific group. Words also differ greatly, but they are all 
words, nevertheless. So, substances or pieces of matter 
differ greatly, but may all be included under one head, 
matter. The pupil may be encouraged to think of exam- 
ples illustrating this. A mass may be defined as a piece or 
lump of any kind of matter, whether large or small. The 
amount or quantity of matter in a body is its mass. The 
relation of mass to weight may be pointed out here. It may 
be shown by using a pair of simple balances and a lump of 
plasticon or moist clay, that the greater the mass of a body, 
the greater its weight. Hardness or impenetrability should 
be demonstrated by comparing a lump of wet clay with one 
that has dried. A simple experiment illustrating this is 
afforded by the solidification of plaster-of-paris. At this 



98 COURSE O^ STUDY. 

point density may be introduced. Some things are harder 
or denser than others. Iron is denser than wood (hence it 
will cut and indent the latter). The denser a body is the 
heavier it is. The relation may now be brought out between 
mass and volume. It may be shown (using a piece of iron 
and one of wood of the same size and shape), that although 
the volume or space occupied is the same, the density, and 
hence the weight, varies. There is thus more matter in the 
iron than in the wood, and consequently the mass of the 
former is greater. To illustrate this further, absorbent 
cotton may be used. It may first be shown that the density 
of this substance is not great. It is easily penetrable and 
is light in weight. The teacher should then take two masses 
of decidedly unequal size and roll them each into little 
bundles of equal volume, tying them thus with cord. The 
larger mass is of the same volume as the smaller, but its 
weight is decidedly greater, and its density has been 
increased by compression. Elasticity may be touched upon 
here. 

A study of the solid, liquid and gaseous states of matter 
should also be undertaken with this class. A lump of ice 
may be melted and the water used to run a little toy steam- 
engine, thus illustrating how heat brings about these 
changes. The visible particles of steam may be pointed 
out as illustrating that water and ice are made of many 
little particles so small that they cannot be seen. It should 
then be explained that all matter is similarly composed. 
Reference may be made to the powdered plaster-of-paris, 
out of which a solid object like a stone was molded. The 
clay may also be shown to be similarly constituted. This 



BANCROFT TRAINING SCHOOL. 99 

of course is a very imperfect presentation of the theory of 
atoms and molecules, but it will serve the present purpose. 
An alcohol lamp and a small evaporating dish may then be 
utilized to show how many substances melt or liquify when 
heated and solidify when cooled. (Butter, wax, paraffin). 
The relation of the heat may be explained by describing the 
motion set up in the little particles by heat. This motion 
becomes so marked that the particles of solid substance begin 
to move apart, to liquify, to boil, and expansion results. 
This may be illustrated by filling a test tube with water, 
corking tightly and heating. The cork will be expelled. 
The expansion may be actually seen by inserting a perfo- 
rated cork with a 6-inch glass tube attached. The water will 
be seen rising in the tube. Further expansion or "motion 
apart" may be shown by the particles of vapor (of water 
or grease) which detach themselves and fly upward as the 
temperature rises. The principle of the steam-engine should 
be explained on the basis of heat-expansion. 

A few simple experiments should be performed with 
light. The relation of heat and light should be pointed out 
and the origin of both in the motion of invisible particles 
explained. A convex lens may then be introduced and the 
heat produced by focusing the sun's rays demonstrated. It 
may then be shown that a beam of light travels in a straight 
line. The reflection of light should next be illustrated with 
a small mirror. The underlying principle may be made clear 
by bouncing a ball, and then by showing how even motion 
may be reflected, using the ripples or waves of water in a 
pan as an example. 

Chemistry and astronomy are to be omitted from this 



loo course: o^ study. 

class. A beginning should be made in physiology by teach- 
ing that food nourishes, giving strength or energy, and 
building new tissue. The action of a muscle may then be 
explained and illustrated, and the general mechanism of vol- 
untary motion described, drawing some practical lessons 
regarding exercise, gait, posture, fatigue and rest. 

advance:d. 

Physics. After a thorough review of the earlier work, 
the subject of motion should be introduced, following lines 
similar to those laid down in treating of matter. Various 
kinds of motion should be illustrated, and the general con- 
cept of force developed. Gravity may first be taken up, 
followed by a study of potential and kinetic energy, using a 
metal spring as an illustration. Cohesion and adhesion 
should then be studied, and finally magnetism. A very sim- 
ple statement may also be made regarding electricity, 
demonstrating by means of a small battery, and by friction 
of a piece of hard rubber. The existence and use of all 
these forces in nature should be dwelt upon. The all-per- 
vading presence of the invisible ether should be clearly 
stated, and the relation to it of the phenomena of heat, light 
and electricity explained in a simple way. 

It must be remembered, however, that these facts and 
theories are to be stated in the simplest possible form, abso- 
lutely devoid of confusing phraseology. The teaching 
should be confined almost entirely to the most elementary 
statements of fact and descriptions of phenomena. 

In the study of light, refraction is to be taken up. The 
experiment with the burning-glass may be recalled, and the 



BANCROFT TRAINING SCHOOL. lOI 

subject developed so that the action of lenses in eyeglasses, 
and in optical instruments such as the microscope, opera- 
glasses, stereopticon, etc., may be understood in a general 
way. The prism should then be studied and the refractive 
separation of the spectral colors shown. It may then be 
demonstrated that the transmission of white light through 
colored media absorbs or takes away all but one of the 
spectral colors. This experiment should be used as a basis 
for the explanation of the color of objects, all the colors 
being absorbed except one, which is reflected and thus 
strikes the eye. Colors in nature, including those of the 
rainbow, the sunset, etc., are to be correlated. 

Astronomy. This subject is to be taken up in a very sim- 
ple and non-technical way, presenting a general conception 
only of the various phenomena. The earth should first be 
described, using the globe for illustrative purposes. The 
geography and history lessons are to be correlated here. The 
sun should next be studied and the earth's motions and solar 
relations demonstrated and explained, bringing out the con- 
nection of the phenomena with what has been learned about 
gravity, etc., in physics. The part played by these motions 
in the measurement of time, and in the production of day, 
night, and the seasons should also be explained. The cause 
of differences in climate should be made plain. The moon 
and its motions and phases should next be studied, including 
its relation to the tides and to the lunar months. Finally the 
planets and fixed stars may be touched upon and if possible 
three or four easy constellations learned by observation, 
such as the great and small dippers (pole star), Orion, 
Cassiopeia's chair. 



I02 COURSE OF STUDY. 

Chemistry. In this subject the aim should be to develop 
a general understanding of elements dind compounds and of 
the formation of all common substances from the former. In 
order to illustrate the fact that substances may be readily 
changed into other substances by decomposition and syn- 
thesis the following experiments may be performed by the 
teacher. (Great caution must be exercised in using all re- 
agents). A solution of iron in sulphuric acid will form a 
greenish solution of iron sulphate, and hydrogen gas will 
be given off. The salt may be crystallized from the solution 
in greenish prisms by evaporation. This illustrates that 
iron may be changed into something that is not iron. 
Metallic silver may be produced by adding a solution of 
chloral hydrate to a diluted solution of ammonio-silver 
nitrate in a test-tube and warming gently. The silver will 
be deposited, as a mirror on the tube. This illustrates that 
silver may be recovered from something that is not silver. 
The fact that substances may be present in solution and yet 
be quite invisible may be proved by adding a little solution 
of potassium iodide to some mercuric chloride solution. Both 
solutions are colorless, but a heavy salmon-pink precipitate 
results from their admixture. Ordinary limestone or chalk 
may be dissolved in hydrochloric acid with the evolution of 
carbon dioxide gas. The calcium carbonate may be recov- 
ered as a white precipitate by adding sodium carbonate solu- 
tion to saturation. The oxidation of a metal may be illus- 
trated by rusting iron and by burning magnesium ribbon. 
In the latter case a white oxide remains. 

With these and other experiments as a basis, it should be 
made clear that there are a limited number of elementarv 



BANCROFT TRAINING SCHOOL. IO3 

substances in the world and that all other substances result 
from various combinations of these. They are compounds. 
The former are elements. (Compare here the familiar 
illustration of letters, words, sentences, etc.) 

The atmosphere should then be studied and the proper- 
ties of oxygen described. The universality of oxidation 
should be pointed out, and its relation to combustion and 
respiration emphasized. 

Physiology. Review. A simple outline of digestion should 
be given to this class. The requirement of food by the 
body, and the reasons for care in its selection, preparation, 
and time and manner of eating (mastication, hasty swallow- 
ing, etc.) should be presented. The digestion and absorp- 
tion of foods in the stomach and intestines should be ex- 
plained together with a brief description of the structure of 
the digestive organs. The circulatory apparatus should 
then be described and the circulation explained in a simple 
manner, tracing the course of the blood from the heart to 
the tissues and back again in the performance of its func- 
tions of a bearer of nutriment and waste. The action of the 
heart-muscle may be illustrated in a simple way by using a 
rubber bulb filled with water. The pupil should be taught 
to recognize the heart-beat and the radial pulse. Respira- 
tion may also be discussed and the necessity of oxygen 
pointed out. (For plant and animal morphology see 
Nature-Study.) 

VIII. NATURE-STUDY. 

In nature-study the aim should be to awaken in the child 
a love for the things of wood and field, not only living crea- 



I04 COURSE O^ STUDY. 

tures and growing plants, but also the dead stones and the 
earth itself. Familiarity with animal, vegetable and mineral 
forms, and acquaintance with their life-histories, while im- 
portant, should be made secondary to this prime require- 
ment. The teaching should include in a general way the sub- 
jects of zoology, botany, mineralogy and geology. These must 
of necessity be presented simply and without technicality. 
As much as possible the work should be done abroad in the 
fields. The class should study animals and plants in their 
natural habitat. Specimens should be brought home and 
studied later in the class room. The facts learned are to 
be made interesting and imbued with meaning by stories, 
songs and talks by the teacher, and by sketches, drawings 
and compositions by the pupil. The child is to be trained in 
gentleness and love for animals, and should be given every 
opportunity to liberate and aid helpless creatures, rather 
than to capture and destroy them. 

kinde:rgarten. 

Work in this class should be confined to walks in the open 
air with the teacher, during which flowers and leaves are 
gathered and described in a very brief way, attention being 
paid particularly to recognition of color, using the colors 
white, red and green. The pupil must not be permitted to 
gather specimens aimlessly or to tear or injure them. In 
the school-room time may be devoted to pictures of leaves 
and flowers, selecting simple ones only. The pupil may be 
permitted to trace a leaf on the transparent slate, the teacher 
at first guiding the hand. 



BANCROFT TRAINING SCHOOL. IO5 

PRIMARY II. 

The work in this class is essentially the same as that of 
the kindergarten. The colors blue and yellow may be added 
to the list of those used previously, and the pupil may be 
taught to recognize bees, flies and grasshoppers in addition 
to the observation of flowers and leaves. 

PRIMARY I. 

Brief review. A detailed study of the maple leaf should 
be taken up. The pupil may draw the leaf both by tracing 
and by the dot method, and may color it when a good draw- 
ing has been produced. A beginning may be made in the 
study of growth. The child should be taught that the seed 
comes from the flower. Various seeds may be shown, such 
as com, beans, peas and grass seed. Some of these may be 
planted by the child in a window-box and germination and 
subsequent growth watched. The development of plants 
from seeds should be explained, and the sprouting of seeds 
in the spring, the farmers' planting, etc., described. 

The following fruits and vegetables should be well taught 
during the year : apple, orange, pear, peach, grape, tomato, 
potato, carrot, onion, celery. The following sounds of 
animals should be made familiar: dog, cat, horse, cow, 
rooster, hen. 

INTE^RMEDIATE II. 

Review. The maple is to be studied in more detail. 
Various forms of maple leaves should be gathered and com- 
pared. The life-history of the maple tree should be told and 
something taught about the sugar maple and the collection 



I06 COURSE O^ STUDY. 

of its sap. The concept of growth in the vegetable king- 
dom should be amplified. The various stages of seed, sprout, 
plant, bud, flower, should be traced through their sequence, 
and a simple explanation given of the changes in annual and 
perennial plants which appear in spring and autumn. 

In connection with the subject of growth a comparison 
of young and old may be made. A brief history of the 
chick should be given. The dog and cat should also be 
studied, the puppy and kitten being compared with mature 
animals. The frog and the fish may also be taken up. Little 
stories about all of these animals should be told, illustrating 
the differences in their development, habits, food and habitat. 

The pupil should learn to recognize the sounds produced 
by the following: cricket, katydid, robin, canary, wood- 
pecker, pigeon, sheep. 

inte:rmi:diate: i. 

Review, adapting the material to suit more advanced 
pupils. The study of growth should be continued. The 
growth of the human species may be taken up, showing 
how the infant develops into the child, then the adult and 
finally the aged. 

The class should take several trips to the zoological gar- 
dens for the purpose of learning to recognize the common 
forms of wild animals and birds. The young of domestic 
and wild animals may also be studied. A detailed study of 
the changes which occur in plants during the seasons and 
the reasons for them should be taken up. The effect of 
temperature upon plant life and the differences in the flora 
and fauna of tropical, temperate and arctic regions may 
also be touched upon. 



BANCROFT TRAINING SCHOOL. IO7 

The life-history of the honey-bee should be thoroughly 
studied. This work is to be taken up in the spring, a hive of 
bees being kept in the garden to be cared for and observed 
by the class. The pupil should be taught how bees live in 
colonies, building their combs of wax and storing in them 
the honey and pollen gathered from the flowers. The queen- 
bee should be pointed out, noting her large size, the eggs 
that she lays in the lower combs, and the way in which 
these eggs develop in larvae, chrysales and mature bees. The 
economic division of labor in the hive should be explained, 
noting the expulsion of the drones from the hive ''because 
they do no work," and contrasting with them the busy work- 
ers who fly away to flowers, gather honey and pollen, return- 
ing heavily laden and depositing their burden in the hive. 
The pupil should observe how some workers build the comb ; 
others attend the queen and care for the eggs she lays ; still 
others guard the doorway of the hive to prevent the entrance 
of enemies or strange bees, attacking any such who ap- 
proach and using their weapons of defence, their stings; 
others again who stand inside and outside the entrance, fan- 
ning their wings rapidly to ventilate and remove dust from 
the hive. This study may be made a source of great pleas- 
ure to the class, and may serve to bring out many excellent 
moral lessons. 

Common trees, such as the oak, chestnut, elm, spruce, 
pine, birch, etc., and common wild-flowers, such as the ane- 
mone, mayapple, blood-root, Jack-in-the-pulpit, daisy, but- 
tercup, cowslip, milkweed, tansey and wild carrot should be 
taught. Those common cultivated flowers not already 
known to the class should also be made familiar. Drill 



I08 COURSE OF STUDY. 

should be given in recognition of the sounds of the cicada, 
the tree-frog, the goose, duck, crow, guinea-hen, turkey, 
pig, goat. 

ADVANCED. 

This class should have a thorough review of the earlier 
work. After completing the general review of growth, the 
\subject may be taken up in greater detail. In addition to 
the germination of vegetable seed, the structure of plants in 
general and of a few common species in particular is to be 
taken up. This should lead to a brief outline of the classi- 
fication of the plant-kingdom. In the animal-kingdom a 
similar method should be followed. The origin of insects 
and other lower forms from the Qgg, and their stages of 
development, should be followed by an elementary classifi- 
cation of all animal forms. 

In company with the previous class, this class should 
study the honey-bee. Other forms of hymenoptera may be 
correlated, and a study of the life-history of the silk-worm 
should be added. 

The class should learn something about the common forms 
of rock. The common precious stones should also be taught, 
and the class should be able to recognize five or six familiar 
species. The formation of the soil and the deposit of soils 
and muds by water are to be studied. Later a brief 
description of the earth should be given, explaining how 
extinct forms of life have been discovered. 

IX. PICTURE-STUDY. 

The study of pictures should have a three-fold purpose: 
first to train the pupil in the observation and memory of 



BANCROFT TRAINING SCHOOL. lOQ 

form and color, particularly in the beauty and harmony of 
these; second to teach the pupil about places and things 
which could not otherwise be brought before him in objec- 
tive form ; third to develop the pupil's appreciation of the 
best in art and to familiarize him with some of the most 
famous pictures. The work should be carefully correlated 
with the memory-training and with studies in language. The 
pictures to be employed should be the black and white 
photo-engravings of the Perry pictures or some similar 
series. Pictures of fruit, birds, etc., should be colored. The 
stereopticon and the cinematograph may be introduced in 
this work with great benefit. 

kinde;rgarte:n. 
Training in the elementary perception of form and in the 
observation of detail in form and color should constitute 
the basis of the work in this class. Three pairs of charts are 
to be used. The first picture of each pair is to be a simple 
but distinct picture of an object giving all the necessary 
detail of form and color, the second is to be merely a figure 
similar in outline and color to its corresponding object-pic- 
ture, but without any detail to give it specific character. The 
three pairs should be: (i) a red apple; (2) an orange; 
(3) a doll with a green dress. The pupil should be shown 
first the colored picture, then its corresponding object-pic- 
ture, the name of the object being spoken by the teacher. 
The two are then to be placed side by side and the child 
required to select the picture of the object when the teacher 
names it. Only one pair of charts should be used at a time, 
and another never should be taken up until the first pair is 
familiar. 



no COURSE OF STUDY. 

The pupil should also be taught to put together split pic- 
tures. These should consist in this class of two forms: 
(i) a red square (12 x 12 inches) of cardboard cut into 
two-inch oblong strips; (2) a green disc (12 inches in 
diameter) cut into eight equal segments. The pupil is to be 
taught to place these objects together as they belong. No 
picture should be used at first, merely the plain color. 

PRIMARY II. 

This class should review the earlier work. The following 
may be added: two pairs of charts (4) a dog and (5) a 
horse; three split pictures, (3) a blue square (12 x 12 
inches) divided diagonally into eight parts; (4) a yellow 
disc, separated into six strips by divisions parallel to the 
diameter; (5) a white square (8x8 inches with i-inch 
oblong strips), on which is a picture of a red apple. 

Four pictures of animals should be studied (dog, cat, 
horse, cow). 

PRIMARY I. 

Review. This class should learn during the year to 
recognize eight pictures of common objects painted by 
famous artists. Pictures of animals, the schoolhouse, the 
church, etc., may be selected and a little story told about 
each one. 

More complex split-picture work should be taught, using 
simple pictures of familiar objects. 

I NTE^R MEDIATE II. 

The class may review the earlier work at the discretion of 
the teacher. Ten famous pictures should be taught during 



BANCROFT TRAINING SCHOOL. Ill 

the year. These should embrace three animals, i marine 
scene, i landscape, 2 portraits, 3 familiar madonnas. An 
interesting- story should be told about each picture, and the 
pupil taught to recognize the picture at sight, describe it, 
and write a short composition upon it. In connection with 
this work selections from Cyr^s Graded Art Reader, Book I, 
may be used. 

Colored pictures of flowers, fruit, vegetables, birds and 
animals may be utilized but the selection of these must be 
carefully made, and not too many given, as confusion in the 
mind of the pupil may otherwise result. 

Complex split-pictures and sawed picture-puzzles may be 
given in this class, either for busy-work or as an employ- 
ment out of school hours. 

INTERMEDIATE I. 

A review of the work of the previous class should be 
given. The class should take up a series of ten famous pic- 
tures illustrative of scenes upon the farm and in the barn- 
yard. These pictures should be correlated and a story 
woven so as to include the whole group. Selections from 
Cyr's Art Reader, Book II, may be introduced. 

Colored pictures of flowers, birds, etc. and various picture- 
puzzles may also be employed. 

This class, in conjunction with the Advanced class, should 
study the series of 12 colored pictures, illustrative of the 
Arabian Nights Bntertaifiments, by Maxfield Parrish (P. F. 
Collier & Son). These pictures are particularly fine 
examples of form and color harmony, and are to be carefully 
studied. In connection with them a child's edition of the 



112 course; OF STUDY. 

Arabian Nights is to be used, the class being made familiar 
with the stories illustrated. 

ADVANCED. 

This class should review the earlier work. The barn-yard 
series is to be learned, and the color pictures used. Cyr's 
Art Reader, Book III, should be studied by this class. 

The Arabian Nights series of pictures is to be used, 
greater attention being paid to color-study, and to the cor- 
relation of the stories with the pictures. 



MUSIC 

No branch of the training of subnormal children is of 
more importance than music. Many of these children are 
appealed to better and more quickly by stimulating the audi- 
tory sense than by any other means. The rhythm of the 
music lays strong hold upon their interest. Not infrequently 
it is at first the only stimulus which will fixate attention more 
than momentarily. 

Both vocal and instrumental music should be employed. 
In addition to the training which these give to the auditory 
sense and through it to other functions and faculties, the 
former develops the voice and the vocal organs, the latter 
brings out valuable correlations and coordinations of the 
special senses with voluntary movements. The recognition 
and appreciation of good music also forms an important 
part of the training. 

Music should be introduced into the work wherever it 



BANCROFT TRAINING SCHOOL. 113 

can be made of value. It should form part of the work in 
physical culture, kindergarten and other plays, memory and 
sense-training, choral exercises, etc. In addition to these 
the subject should be taught systematically. It must not be 
forgotten that music has definite therapeutic effects, and that 
its sedative and relaxing action may often be put to good 
use. 

KINDERGARTEN 

The chief work in this class should consist of motion- 
songs. The march should be used to obtain rhythmic motion 
of the whole body. In addition to this three appropriate 
motion-songs should be selected for the head and upper 
extremities, and three for the trunk and lower extremities. 
The finger-plays are also to be introduced. All of these 
songs should be sung by the teacher while an assistant 
moves the child's extremities through the proper evolutions. 
This must be continued until the child can repeat the exer- 
cise without help. 

The class should be sung to frequently. Nursery rhymes, 
Mother Goose songs, lullabies, etc. are to be used, and an 
attempt made to teach two simple word-songs. 

Each pupil should also be given very simple finger-exer- 
cises upon the piano, and should have frequent drill upon 
some easy wind-instrument, such as a flageolet, in which the 
blowing is associated with simple fingering. 

PRIMARY II. 

The work of the kindergarten class is to be reviewed and 
amplified. The motion-songs may be increased in number 

8 



1 14 COURSE OF STUDY. 

and complexity, and greater proficiency required in the 
word-songs. 

A beginning should be made in singing. A single note is 
to be sung first, the teacher insisting upon well-sustained 
tone. A higher note is then to be taken, so on until a simple 
scale can be sung. 

In instrumental music a simple scale should be taught 
upon the piano and also upon the flageolet or concertina. 

PRIMARY I. 

Review. The drill in motion-songs and game-songs is to 
be continued. The pupil should be trained to repeat one, 
two or three notes after the teacher. The scale singing may 
be varied by the singing of scales in thirds. 

A beginning should be made in easy-piano scales with 
both hands. The pupil may also learn a simple exercise, to 
be played as a duet with the teacher. Scales on the flageolet 
and concertina are to be continued. The tubephone may be 
introduced here. The pupil should also be taught to produce 
single tones upon the ocharina. 

interm:e:diate; II. 

Review. Exercises in scale and tone singing are to be 
continued, introducing the staff with whole notes. The 
game-songs should be continued and two easy choral songs 
added. One of these should be a hymn or anthem ; the other 
may be an easy school song. These are to be taught in 
addition to the songs learned in combination with the other 
classes in assembly. 

Elementary piano-fingering should be taught, and an easy 



BANCROFT TRAINING SCHOOI.. II5 

piece begun. The use of the concertina, tubephone, etc. is 
to be continued. 

INTERMEDIATE I. 

A thorough review is to be given this class. Motion- 
songs and dances are to be taught in conjunction with the 
work in physical culture. Sight singing should be begun 
and the rudiments of musical notation taught. A part-song 
is to be taught with the assistance of the Advanced class. 

Two simple pieces may be taught upon the piano. The 
instruments previously used should be continued, the pupil 
learning to play a simple air upon one or two of them. 

ADVANCED. 

Review. Thorough drill in choral singing should be 
given. This choral singing, not only in this class, but in all 
the classes, should be as far as possible without piano accom- 
paniment. Scale-work and sight-singing are to be continued 
and each pupil taught (if possible) to sing an easy solo. 
Training in singing without accompaniment should be given 
with special attention to sustention of pitch. A part-song 
is to be sung with the Intermedate I class. 

Instruction in reading and writing music should be con- 
tinued. The value of whole, half and quarter notes, etc. and 
dififerences in the expressoin of time should be made clear. 
The pupil should be required during the year to copy a 
simple piece of music and explain what each sign means. 

As far as possible the pupils are to have individual les- 
sons on the piano. An ocharina quartet should be chosen 
and trained to play two or three easy pieces. 



1 16 course; of study. 

PLAY 

Play is an essential in education, and is spontaneous with 
the average child. But subnormal children often show no 
spontaneous tendency to play, and this must therefore 
be taught to them. Much of the school work is presented in 
the form of play. This is true of nearly all the kindergarten 
work and may also be said of much of the physical culture 
and other training. 

For the purpose of developing the "play-instinct" practi- 
cally every moment of the time out of school, the "play- 
hours" of the afternoon and evening must be occupied by 
carefully planned and systematized work. This should be 
real play to the children. They must be kept quite uncon- 
scious of its plan and method, and yet each game or exercise 
must teach them something of definite value. 

During play-time the children are not to be separated into 
the classes in which they are placed during school. They 
are to be gathered together in groups which are as it were 
spontaneously formed, the class divisions of the school- 
room being purposely avoided. Care must be taken, how- 
ever, to have these play-groups congenial and so arranged 
that successful play may be carried on. 

The prime factor in all play is interest. If interest can- 
not be aroused in any special form of play it should be at 
once abandoned. It is only when interest is shown that the 
play becomes available for education. 

There is no phase in the development of the child which 
may not be trained by play. Practically all play and games 
are complex. They develop several functions or faculties 
at one time. They may be classified, however, according to 



BANCROI^T TRAINING SCHOOIv. 117 

the particular type of activity which is especially prominent 
in them. All games are valuable in cultivating a spirit of 
fair-play. Honesty, fairness, consideration for others, a 
kindly spirit in the rivalry which competition brings, cheer- 
fulness in defeat, in short all that is included in the term 
"sportsman-like" conduct, may be drawn out and fostered by 
them. 

Various forms of play should be selected by the teacher 
according to the individual needs of the pupil. A certain 
number of games are to be played out-of-doors. These 
must not be permitted to strain the pupil's endurance, or 
overtax his strength. Indoor games must be selected ac- 
cording to the powers of the child. No play or game should 
be commenced in which the pupil cannot succeed, at least 
with help. Several children may be grouped together for 
a time and then separated and given individual employment. 
While these changes should be made frequently enough to 
prevent interest from lagging, no game should be abandoned 
until some real progress is made in understanding it. The 
teacher and her assistants should always be ready to par- 
ticipate and to give directions. No form of amusement, 
even free play, should be performed by the child without 
guidance. The games selected for each child or group of 
children should be adapted to their special needs. They 
should be taught systematically and not allowed to de- 
generate into mere aimless activity. Particular forms of 
exercise and sense-training, development of coordination, 
memory, association and training in esthetic sense should 
all be included. A special inclination or a special defect 
may be thus reached by a carefully selected game. 



Il8 COURSE 01^ STUDY. 

Plays may be classified in a general way according to the 
type of training for which they are especially well-fitted. A 
brief outline of some of the forms of play best suited to 
subnormal children is here presented. 

I. Play that develops the physical body. 

a. Exercises of the general voluntary muscular system. 
These are in reality a form of physical culture and are 

performed out-of-doors or in the gymnasium. They include 
what are commonly called sports. Among them may be 
mentioned : free play, such as simple running or the various 
forms of tag; foot-racing; jumping; riding; swimming; 
etc. Systematized games which require definite apparatus : 
bean-bag ; ball ; tether-ball ; grace-hoop ; battledore and 
shuttle-cock ; ring-toss ; quoits ; fencing ; boxing ; croquet ; 
bowling-on-the-green ; tennis; base-ball; foot-ball (simpli- 
fied) ; etc. 

b. Games that develop coordination of the smaller 
muscle-groups (especially the hands and arms). This 
group includes : games requiring muscular control and 
steadiness, such as jack-straws (plain and magnetic) ; fish- 
pond (plain and magnetic) ; peg-board. Games of manual 
dexterity coordinated with visual accuracy, such as tiddledy- 
winks ; barber-pole ; parlor tennis and football ; over the 
fence. (Block-building and some forms of dissected puzzle- 
pictures are useful here). Soap-bubble blowing may be 
included here. 

c. Games that develop special senses. Here are to be 
found games that train speed and accuracy of form and 



BANCROFT TRAINING SCHOOIv. II9 

color vision, such as matched pictorial card-games ; dissected 
pictures ; dissected blocks ; mosaic bricks. Also "observa- 
tion" games : of objects taken in at one glance, of objects 
in altered arrangement, changes in the children present in 
the room, etc. Auditory, olfactory and tactile "guessing" 
games. 

2. Play that develops the m5:ntal faculties. 

a. Arithmetical or counting games. Many games with 
playing cards are to be included here, such as casino, euchre, 
whist, solitaire. Also flinch ; addition, subtraction, multi- 
plication, division and fraction card games ; dominoes ; par- 
cheesi; halma, etc. 

b. Spelling games. In addition to spelling contests, 
games with dissected words, alphabet games, lotto, etc., are 
to be included in this group. 

c. Memvry and special subject games. These include 
some games which are more truly "observation" games. 
Also such games as : authors, geographic, historical and 
zoological card games, battleship-cards, Bible text-cards, 
etc. 

d. Pussies and guessing games. This group embraces 
word and picture puzzles, riddles, charades, etc. 

e. Imitative and imaginative gamies. Here are grouped 
all those games and plays which develop particularly the 
imitative and imaginative faculties. Most important are 
those which imitate the occupations and activities of adult 
life. Some of these plays and games appeal more than any 
others to the mind of the child. They include imitation of 



I20 COURSE O^ STUDY. 

domestic duties, as in playing house, store, doll, tea party, 
etc. ; imitation of travel by automobile, rail or ship, either 
with improvised conveyances or toy trains, boats, etc. ; imi- 
tation of animals, as in playing horse, etc. ; games with 
mechanical toys, and many other forms. All these plays are 
of great value. They not only stimulate the imitative faculty 
and develop the imagination, but they also correlate in a 
remarkably efficient manner all the mental and physical 
activities, and in addition impart much valuable informa- 
tion and inculcate many useful habits. 

f. Constructive games. Here are to be grouped those 
games and plays which are essentially constructive. Block- 
building, while it is of special value in muscular coordina- 
tion, is also very useful in developing the ability to make or 
huild. Building houses, stables, cabins, etc., of blocks, logs, 
stones, sand, snow, etc.; fashioning objects of wood and 
paper, are in a certain sense occupations belonging to manual 
training, but they may also be undertaken as real play. 
Many other forms of constructive work may also be simi- 
larly treated. 

3. PivAY THAT DEVEI.OPS THE ESTHETIC SENSE. 

In this division are included those occupations which de- 
velop an appreciation of forms of beauty and harmonies of 
color and arrangement. Among them may be mentioned 
paper cutting, folding and tearing; stick, ring, tablet and 
block laying. These plays draw out a phase of the imagin- 
ation which is only partially aroused by games imitative of 
common life. 



'fiii'?'*i 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



020 730 348 3 



